Mai HiME: The Golden Millennium
by Black Knightmon
Summary: Though the Festival has ended, the Star destroyed and the First District disbanded, there’s still one organisation left that isn’t done with Fuuka or the HiME.
1. Transference of Power

**Disclaimer:** Mai HiME is the property of Sunrise, Bandai. Inspired by the fake Mai HiME movie trailer.

* * *

"Just wait right here till I call you in," Sakomizu Kaiji, a teacher for the junior classes of Fuuka Academy, said to the girl who was to transfer into his class. A transfer student, he could still remember the last time they had that and the events that came after, but those days were over now, thankfully. 

He opened the door, greeted by the chatter of his students, carefree and cheerful. They all quieted down somewhat when he entered and as he slowly walked over to this desk he looked over the group of children that were under his care. He knew all of them, though some more than others. For a very few, he knew an awful lot, but again those days were over now. Sakomizu Kaiji was now just a teacher and he found he didn't regret the loss of intrigue he was involved in before one bit.

"Everyone, rise," one girl, the class representative, said when he reached his desk to set down his customary briefcase, just another normal morning greeting.

"Good morning teacher," the class chorused, their voices blending as one for the most part. Two distinct undertones were noticeable though, as usual, that didn't blend in with the others. Minagi Mikoto, always chipper, was far louder than the rest. And the other, Yuki Nao, just sounded plain bored. She also didn't bother standing up and after so many mornings even the class representative, a very tenacious girl, had given up on getting her to join in.

"Good morning class," he said and they all sat down again, "today we're going to start with something a little different. A new student will be joining us today, so everyone be sure to be kind to her."

Turning to the door he called out a little louder, "You can come in now."

The class' attention went to the door and even Nao bothered herself to take a look, to see their new classmate. Dressed in the same uniform as they all did, only with a green shirt underneath, she walked over to the blackboard. With some precise strokes she wrote down her name before turning to face them, her two long braided tails trailing behind her.

"My name is Yumemiya Arika," she said, her blue eyes sparkling.

* * *

**Mai HiME: The Golden Millennium**

"_**Transference of Power"**_

* * *

The night sky above Fuuka Academy was a clear black, with not a cloud in sight. It was a rare evening, on which all the stars could be clearly seen. 

"They've never been allowed to love in this cursed cage," a soft voice sang, unobstructed by any of the usual noises that existed during the day. At night Fuuka Academy's terrain was mostly empty, with nothing that could disrupt the serene setting. One of the few people out on the campus sat in an unlikely place, resting back against the dome above the school's main entrance.

The young girl, singing her sad song, looked up at the full moon. It looked perfect, a perfectly round ball of light shining down on the world below. But something was missing, something that belonged in that night sky just as much as the natural satellite did, but that thing had been destroyed by a group of girls that went against the star's irrefutable destiny, proving it wasn't as long lasting as it had seemed.

"It's only the fairy tale they believe," she finished, the tone of the last part of the song more ominous that it had been sung before. She smiled, the song was so very fitting for the end of the Festival; the happy end they had created was only the fairy tale.

* * *

A very pleasant flagrance spread itself through the small dormitory room, reaching the noses of the two sleeping occupants. Though three shared the place only one had awoken as of yet, but that was how it always went and it wasn't as if she actually minded that she had to get up way before the other two girls to make their breakfast and lunchboxes. It was hardly something she could leave to Mikoto; the younger girl would sooner burn down the room than actually make something edible. Or she'd get distracted, which could cause any number of mishaps. 

"Mai, yummy," Mikoto muttered, still asleep with no real sign of waking up soon. Wrapped around her pillow, which served adequately as a substitute for Mai for at least a while, she buried her head into its soft surface further.

In the other bed Natsuki lazily opened an eye to see what was going on, taking in the aroma of what she recognized as her hostess' remarkable Miso soup. It seemed that today would be a traditional breakfast.

"Smells good," Natsuki mumbled.

"If it didn't you wouldn't keep staying around," Mai answered. No, she didn't mind getting up early to make breakfast every day, if she'd let Natsuki do it the result would just be something drowned in mayonnaise. That one time was one time too many, so this worked out for the best for all of them.

Without any hurry Natsuki rose from the bed, not bothering with putting the sheets back. Grabbing her spare clothing she went over to the bathroom for a bath. From the look of things she figured she had enough time for a quick one before the food was completely finished, or devoured by Mikoto for that matter. Her hand on the doorknob, Natsuki suddenly stopped, looking over at Mai with narrowed eyes.

"This time, and I really mean it, don't come in the bathroom to check up on me," she said sternly.

"Sorry," Mai laughed, "it's a habit I just can't seem to break."  
Natsuki smiled slightly, shaking her head, "Really, you're just like Shizuru."

"I don't think I quite have her talent," Mai replied, but Natsuki had already gone into the bathroom so she didn't hear the teasing reply.

Natsuki still had her own apartment, but after the Festival had ended she was no longer so keen on staying all by herself, so many nights she just stayed over with them. It meant she had to double bunk with Mikoto to accommodate the other girl with their two beds, but since the Junior High girl always ended up around her anyway that was hardly a sacrifice.

Listening partially to the simmering vegetables and the faint sound of running water from the bath, Mai put the lids on their lunchboxes. Three boxes, just like she always used to make, but now one of them was no longer meant for her younger brother. She felt both a bit sad and happy that Takumi no longer needed her that much for anything, including his lunchboxes.

A final glance told her she could leave the kitchen alone for a few minutes, long enough for her to prepare the table and wake up her youngest charge. Table cloth and silverware came quickly and easily, much more so than the second task would.

"Mikoto, wake up," Mai said, gently shaking the young girl, but it didn't have much effect other than having her roll over, still wrapped around the pillow. Too bad she had been lying close to the side of the bed already, so she just flipped right down to the floor.

"Ugh," she mumbled, but continued to sleep regardless.

"If you want to sleep some more that's fine," Mai said teasingly, "but don't blame me when Natsuki eats your share as well."

"No!" Mikoto exclaimed, sitting rigidly at attention in a second. That never failed to really wake the girl up, another benefit at having the former lone-wolf over.

Leaving her to wake up properly Mai went back to putting the final touches on the soup and to take the vegetables off the stove. Behind her she heard a rumbling sound she knew intimately as Mikoto's stomach, as always the girl was hungry enough to eat a horse.

"It'll just be a few more minutes," Mai said to the girl's unspoken question, "but if you can place the rice on the table for me you can have a small bite now."

"Hm, hm," Mikoto nodded fervently.

At last everything was complete with every dish on the table. It was only a simple breakfast with three dishes; rice, Miso soup and vegetables, but there were never any complaints when she kept it simple. With Mikoto already gulping down her soup only one thing was still missing from the breakfast scene.

"Natsuki," Mai called out, barging into the bathroom without a second thought, "breakfast is ready."

"Ah, Mai!" Natsuki yelled, covering herself with a towel in shock.

* * *

The campus grounds of Fuuka Academy, empty as a graveyard at night, were quickly filling up as the time before the start of the first morning classes was beginning to wane. Small groups of students chattered idly away as they walked on the many roads leading to the school, surrounded by lush trees and a warm sun shining down on them. Mostly the groups were pretty uniform, with high school students and junior high students staying separate. 

"Now, be sure to pay attention the whole time, you understand?" Mai said, continuing her morning briefing of the junior high girl, "Education is very important and you don't want to have to repeat a grade again."

"As expected of a student council member," Natsuki said while Mikoto just nodded. Both had heard the talk before, as it was as much a part of their morning routine as breakfast or bathroom visits were.

"I'd give you the same lecture if you hadn't managed, in the nick of time, to work around your lack of attendance," Mai said, somewhat admonishingly. After almost the entire student council had left after graduation, leaving Yukino behind as the president, she had wasted little time in applying. Without the extra costs she had when taking care of her brother, who now took it upon himself to work for paying off the operation bill, she no longer had need for her many jobs. But the void that had left had to be filled somehow, and with the new president in need of assistance it seemed the right thing to do.

"That couldn't be helped, I was busy with First District and the Orphans," Natsuki replied in her own defence.

"Oh?" Mai said mockingly, "you weren't the only HiME, you know, but you were the only one ditching classes on a regular basis."

"Nao ditched sometimes too," Mikoto said, to help out, but mentioning her classmate and friend wasn't the best thing to do, as it only supplied Mai with more material to use.

"And you see where that got her, she's also still in third grade. You want to be named with Nao in the same negative breath?"

"No!" Natsuki protested.

Mai sighed, "Mikoto, don't take either of them as a role model, will you?"

"Hey, now, that's uncalled for."

With their goal in sight, the large glass dome of the entrance, Mai happily looked around herself. It had taken some time but she finally had the normal high school life she wanted. As she looked she saw a shadowy pair moving parallel with them, holding hands and smiling, but in the cover of the trees. She frowned and veered off her way to them. What they were doing was dangerous, what if they were seen like that together? It bothered her enough that since their return the rumours had increased. And unlike before she couldn't just write them away as being just a dangerous fantasy world.

"I'm going ahead," Natsuki said, as she noticed to whom Mai was going, "I'll see you two later."

"Good morning," she said just loud and chipper enough to the happy pair.

"S-sis," Takumi sounded surprised, "good morning."

The moment she had spoken up the pair broke their connection. Akira had the decency to blush, but her brother just smiled disarmingly, not that his feigned innocence ever worked on her though. She knew the two were close, knew how much her brother meant to the girl who, like her, was a HiME. That fateful night she didn't like remembering was proof enough of that, even if they hadn't gone to America together for the operation.

While there Akira had started living her life as a girl openly, getting used to a new lifestyle in a place no one knew her. It wasn't until they had returned to Fuuka that she had really started to have difficulties with the change. After all she had lived as a guy amongst the students for as long as they knew her and the constant scrutiny became more and more unsettling. Still, with her mission over, her family was adamant that she started to live normally and once the truth was out in the open it was impossible to hide it once again.

"Good morning," Akira chorused, satisfyingly uncomfortable.

"It's nice to see you two getting along so well," Mai said, "but don't you think holding hands is pushing it a bit. If it wasn't for the fact you weren't living together anymore, holding hands like that, I'd almost be afraid of accidents happening."

"Accidents?" Takumi wondered, tapping his chin in thought as if he didn't know what his sister was talking about. He was blushing a bit now too though, ruining the innocent image he was going for, "Don't worry about a thing. We know what we're doing."

"On my honour, nothing of the kind you're worrying about has or will happen during the course of our education," Akira said, her tone and pledge so serious it seemed almost out of place for their time. But it did set her at ease at least.

"We're careful with what we do," Takumi said, seeing his sister relax a bit, "but I'm more worried about you though. I hear things are going rather well in the field of love for you. I've been hearing quite a lot of things about you and Yuichi."

"W-wha, what did you hear?" stammering her reply, Mai couldn't help but blush herself now.

"They almost kissed again yesterday," Mikoto chirped, again her intervention was less than helpful.

"You were watching?" Mai almost yelled, but managed to get her voice down a little in time. Still, more than a few curious heads turned their way.

With his sister's attention now averted, Takumi quickly took hold of Akira's hand and dragged her away.

"Well, you've got quite a few things to worry about yourself, so we'll just be on our way," he called out to her while getting safely out of earshot. Though he was curious to what Mikoto had seen exactly he knew that staying around wasn't all that prudent. Besides, if his sister's roommate knew he'd hear all about it through the grapevine soon enough. The stories that circulated the academy sometimes bordered on fantasy, there were still a remarkable number of truths hidden around them. For instance, he knew the rumours about him and the girl whose hand he was holding weren't entirely without basis in fact. Though those that circulated about them when they had still been roommates, when everyone still believed Akira to be a guy, were completely false. Briefly he recalled the moment he learned the truth, seeing her in the bathroom, and corrected himself. They were mostly false.

"You can let go of my hand now," Akira scowled, her composure quickly regained now that she had found herself dragged along. She knew the rumours too and really had no intention of adding more to them than they undoubtedly already had.

* * *

Inside, the academy was abuzz with activity, as both students and teachers alike went to their assigned rooms or stood around talking to each other. As she passed she still got many looks, admiring ones from both boys and girls alike. The looks of wonderment had mostly vanished, as her arrival was no longer a rare event now that her attendance rate had much improved. She supposed that, aside from her own choice to enjoy high school life more, it was mostly her continued friendship with Mai that made her come back. As with her true roommate Mai wouldn't hesitate to pull sanctions on her if she started skipping out again, and while such actions weren't as dire for her as they were for Mikoto a good meal wasn't something she'd willingly skip out on. Even she had to admit that, now that she'd gotten used to being fed better quality food, mayonnaise could only go so far. Now mayonnaise and Mai's cooking combined, that was something worth eating. If only the busty girl didn't scoff at her 'desecrating' the food. 

Maybe it was time, she thought, to move in with them permanently. Though they'd joked about it sometimes, she really did seriously consider it after Mai had brought it up the first time. It made more sense every day that she stayed over. Paying rent for a place she hardly ever used wasn't really cost effective.

Ignoring most of the people around her while considering the implications of her choices she suddenly noticed an unlikely pair in hushed conversation. Well, one of the girls was being hushed about it; the other just didn't seem to care.

"Just come to the usual place after my church duties and I'll help you out, no problem," Natsuki heard Nao say as she approached the pair.

"Not leading a girl into trouble are you?" She asked the redhead, unable to quite help herself.

"Just business," the younger girl shrugged, and with a carefree wave she was gone. With a squeak the other girl, Munakata Shiho, also quickly made herself scarce. While more approachable than she used to be, somewhat, Shiho didn't want Kuga to take an interest in her business. It was no secret in the school that she and Mai were close friends and what she wanted to discus with her classmate wasn't something the latter girl needed to know about.

Whatever those two girls were up to wasn't really Natsuki's business, so without any more interruptions she continued to her own classroom. When she got there already half of the class had filled up, although there was still plenty of time left before the start of the lessons. While going to her window seat she took a glimpse of the only other former HiME in her class, who was busy composing a text message on her phone with a radiant smile on her face. It was no mystery to her to whom the message Akane was typing was going to be addressed.

* * *

A new day had broken, but not in one of the student rooms in the girl's dormitory. It was left in gloom, lit only from stray rays through the opening between the curtains in front of the one big window. Only one of its inhabitants had yet to awaken, taking care not to raise enough noise to bother the older girl, Yumemiya Arika had dressed and made breakfast for both herself and her senior. 

But the time before morning classes was running out and if they didn't want to get there late, on a day that held so much promise for the future, than her roommate had to awaken. With vigour she threw open the blinds, bathing herself and the room in brilliant sunlight. Somewhere behind her she heard a squirm coming from under the covers.

Grinning, she gingerly went over to the lump under one of the bed's covers, stretching her arms to poke it, when she suddenly found herself tumbling out of her bed, sheets and all.

"Wake up Arika," her roommate, a high school girl with tanned skin, striking purple eyes and spiky white hair, said admonishingly.

"Ugh," Arika mumbled, poking her head out from the mess she made on the floor, rudely awoken from what had been a pretty nice dream. One thing she most certainly wasn't was a morning person. Still not fully awake she let herself be helped up and then dragged along. She didn't know, nor did she particularly care, where they were going till she felt her feet touch the cold tiles of the bathroom. Even through the mist that clouded her mind every morning she vaguely remembered having undergone this before, many times before. However her roommate wasn't giving her the time to collect her thoughts.

A loud scream pierced the dreams of any other sleepers that the dorm might still have had when Arika was completely doused in cold water.

Barely a few minutes later she found herself cleaned, dried, dressed and fed outside her dorm in her school uniform and a bag slung over her shoulder. As much as she hated it, her senior did know what she needed in order to be fully awake in the morning, a very cold shower.

"Alright, time to get going!" she said to herself, startling two girls who were just passing her by. Even though she had just been dreaming she wasn't wrong about it being a day of opportunities. Resolved to make the day hers Arika strode away from the dorm with quick strides.

Her roommate followed, but in a far more composed pace that left her behind almost from the start. Arika needed some help getting started, but once she was fired up it was hard to keep up with her, but at the moment she wasn't needed at the younger girl's side.

It wasn't long till she raced past other students on the road, on the lookout for a few specific people. All of a sudden she heard a surprised outcry and she knew she had found what she was looking for.

"Really, you shouldn't say stuff like that," Mai said in resignation ahead of her, Mikoto clinging tightly to her body, "people will get the wrong idea."

"Ah, wait for m-!" Arika cried out suddenly, running at them, at the last moment though she lost her footing and crashed head first into the ground, "Owww."

"Ah, Arinko!" Mikoto greeted the prone girl.

"It's Arika, Yumemiya Arika!" She objected at once. Her fierce and stubborn expression turned skittish though when she noticed that her skirt had ridden up, exposing her thigh and her panties for the entire world to see. Giving a small squeak she straightened it out quickly, hoping no one had really taken notice.

"You really have to be more careful," Mai said gently, offering her hand to help her underclassman back on her feet.

"Also," Mai continued, lowering her voice while bringing herself closer in a conspiratorial manner, "there are a lot of perverts around, so you should be doubly careful about falling like that."

"Perverts?" Arika asked, semi-innocently.

"There are plenty of people who want to see, or take advantage of, the bodies of young girls. Certain parts are especially in favour," Mai found herself reciting practically the same lines Chie had used back when she had just come to school when they found out Mikoto didn't ware a bra, or even knew what a bra was. Things had changed though, the younger girl was now quite aware of bras and assets.

"Like these," Mikoto said suddenly, shaking Mai's breasts from behind.

"I see, I see," Arika said with interest, not making any effort to disguise her blatant observations. Mai squirmed loose and blushed, but it wasn't as much as it used to be, somehow she was starting to get used to Mikoto's affections.

"Really Mikoto, not in public," she said, staring down anyone who was looking before setting off for the entrance. The other two girls followed, with Mikoto returning to her position around her waist.

"So," Mai said after a few moments, "I hear it's an important day for you too. Are you prepared?"

"Yes," Arika answered with vigour, even striking a quick pose, "today I won't fail."

* * *

Deliberate footsteps reverberated on cold metal steps away from the command post at the top. Dressed in a fine suit not meant for the deck of the old container ship that had dropped anchor the man had no trouble descending the steps despite its swaying. Behind him a heavy door slammed shut, the same kind of door that awaited him at his destination below decks. 

A soldier dressed in a fully sealing black uniform, complete with helmet and visor, saluted wordlessly before opening the way for him. Behind him two more soldiers followed him in, taking positions at either side of the door after it was closed behind them again.

Inside the sparsely decorated chamber, bare beyond some chairs and a table with a detailed map of Fuuka on it, a group of senior men awaited his arrival. Just a quick glance told him his suspicions were correct, the senior partners, technically his bosses, weren't pleased to be called out by him.

"Finally you are here," one of them addressed him, his tone broking no argument over who was in charge, "Now can you tell us what is so important that we had to come to this godforsaken land?"

"But of course sirs," he answered smoothly, showing no outward sign of how he thought of the men who had let the Foundation squander. Ever since the fall of the HiME Star many plans to harness its power had naturally been abandoned, but along with that went any real incentive to govern the world as was their rightful place. First District, before it had been disbanded, was one of the only entities in existence with both the knowledge of their existence and the power to be a hindrance to them. But now that they were gone the old men thought themselves safe on their lofty, yet shadowy, thrones. Today would be a stark reminder to all of them that the Foundation could not be run in that manner, from comfortable chairs in luxurious mansions. Ruling the world meant active participation in governing events, to orchestrate them and not act on them afterwards.

"May I draw your attention to the map on the table before you," he continued, now standing among them at the table. The men looked at it again as if seeing it for the first time, but he was no fool, he knew they had already seen it, he knew they recognized it for what it was and he knew they had no idea what he was planning.

"Today will begin the operation of putting Searrs back in power, right here at Fuuka Academy," his finger grazed the surface of the map that showed the centre of Fuuka, the Academy. Around it were flags of many colours, each one identifying a group or segment of the operation.

"Smith," another old man bellowed, "What are you playing at, this land has no part in our affairs anymore."

"But, more importantly," another voiced, "what is it that you mean with putting us back in power, we are in power!"

Smith just looked at the group with slight contempt, something the assembled executives picked up on too late; his expression hadn't changed since the moment he had entered. A ringing sound suddenly went off inside one of his pockets.

"That, gentlemen, is where you are wrong," he said before answering his phone, the call coming in with perfect timing, "Good morning, I take it everything is going as foreseen?"

"Yes," a calm female voice answered from the other side, "the catalyst reacted without fail this time, we are now ready to proceed if the operation is still a go."

"Good, then you can proceed with the next phase when you are ready," Smith said, concluding the conversation after hearing a bell in the background. The schooling for the day at Fuuka Academy had begun, a normal day for the last time.

"This is an outrage," the first of the executives exclaimed, "You are superseding your authority, Smith. We gave no permission for any operation, certainly not one here where this is no longer anything to gain!"

Getting restless and increasingly more aggravated some of the men started to crowd around him. Giving no sign of being even remotely disturbed by this Smith raised a hand and snapped his finger. At once the safeties on the soldiers' rifles were released and aimed at the assembled group.

"What is the meaning of this?" The demand came haltingly.

"Gentlemen, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to calm down. For the time being you will remain guests here at the ship, but your access will be restricted to this room. Your ignorance of the coming operation should give you something to consider while you await the golden millennium. Good day, gentlemen."

* * *

At the academy the classes had, mostly, filled up, leaving behind empty halls. The bright entrance hall was quiet aside from the slight rustling of ribbons tied to the railings by a gentle breeze coming blowing through. All the chatter had now moved to the classrooms, where the students were waiting only for the arrival of the teachers in the cases where they hadn't arrived yet, like in the junior high class 3-A. As some of the last students were arriving, a cheerful pair entered as one of the last, just about a minute before their teacher, Sakomizu did to start of the first session of the day. 

"Nao," Mikoto immediately called out, when she noticed her classmate already sitting in her seat, staring out the window.

"Good morning," Arika greeted, in a similarly exited tone.

"Well, you two are certainly cheerful this morning," Nao commented, "Have you forgotten what we're in for today?"

Mikoto nodded fervently, and said happily, "Mai made me study all day yesterday."

"And you're actually happy about that aren't you?" Nao shrugged, "Well, as soon as this is over I can get back to some really important business."

At the emphasis on business Shiho shook slightly as if stung, the redhead's penetrating green eyes brushing over her position slightly. She blushed; it was no real secret what kind of business the older girl ran when she was not in school. Both in church and outside the quite knowledgeable girl was now well known as an advisor on things the student council would no doubt find questionable. Even though she now served part time as a nun, she was still pretty much a delinquent.

"How can you say that, this is important, this is about our future," Arika objected at the girl's lax attitude towards school, the exact kind of motivation that made her repeat a year, "If you think about this to simplistically you will fail again."

Nao didn't mind though, she had no rush in completing school, though now that her mom's health was improving she didn't relish explaining failing again, so she too had put some effort into studying for the day's test. Not that she'd tell the ant girl about any of that though, she had a reputation to keep up.

"No, I failed because the tests were too simplistic for me to bother with; you failed because your thinking is too simplistic to be bothered with," Nao refuted.

"Hmm, meanie," Arika pouted.

* * *

"I wonder if Mikoto's test went alright," Mai said to no one in particular, staring out the window of the student council room. After separating for the morning classes she hadn't found a moment of time to look for her roommate and neither it seemed did Mikoto. The new council, formed after three of its members had graduated, had assembled in the early afternoon in order to discuss some of the coming issues. 

"After all the studying you made her do yesterday I'd be surprised if she failed," Natsuki commented, putting her hand on the receiver of her cell phone for a moment. While not technically a member of the student council, she could often be found there regardless, even though Shizuru had already graduated, that had not changed.

"Oh, it's nothing, just Mai worrying about her pet," Natsuki continued on her phone.

"I'm also sure Mikoto will do fine, she's not the kind of girl to let herself get beaten by anything," Yukino, the chairman, said while leafing through some papers on her desk. Once again a festival was coming up which left the student council with lists full of things that should be taken care of. They needed sponsors, stands and people to man them for on campus and a special place for other celebrations. That also needed fireworks, catering and many things more. It was a good thing she had already dealt with festivals more than once, so that the gap left behind by the graduates wasn't too big to overcome.

"Forlorn mother worrying about her child," Chie spoke up sombrely, snapping a quick picture of her subject. Both she and Aoi had followed in their classmates' footsteps and joined the student council. With their fabled rumour collecting skills they now formed an integral part of gathering information on what was happening around campus and put that to a use other than fuelling the grapevine.

"Ah, such a beautiful sight," Aoi sighed, "maybe I should start mothering Nao-chan too, if she'd let me."

"That would cut into your time to do other things," Chie whispered seductively into her ear, making the brunette blush at the implications.

"Really, now, save that for later," Aoi whispered back, snickering at her best friend's flamboyant remarks that never quite failed to bring a smile to her face.

"Nao was held back too, maybe she could use some tutoring," Mai mused, missing the exchange between her classmates. Getting Mikoto to work for her education had been very hard at first and even now school was nowhere near the top three of things the younger girl liked to do. She'd much rather sleep, play around with the cats that loitered the academy or cling to Mai's chest.

"Nao's fine," Aoi said, glad that her friend was too busy considering her roommate's education that she missed the sweet talking. But considering the slight blush on their chairwoman's face it seemed not all of them had missed it. Yukino wouldn't say anything though, that wasn't her style.

"Actually, she was studying last night too, but don't tell anyone."

Behind her desk Yukino paged through another stack of papers. Most of what she had in front of her could wait till after classes, but she finally found a few subjects that had to be taken care of as soon as possible. As she recalled, they were already running a bit late with those particular preparations. Natsuki, who was leaning back against a wall close to the chairwoman's desk, didn't fail to notice that she wanted to begin the meeting in earnest.

"I have to go now, I'm holding up the," Natsuki said, but was interrupted from the other side, "What? You are? You all are, why didn't you tell me sooner? A surprise, I should've guessed. Yes, I'll tell them, bye."

"Something important?" Mai asked.

"Shizuru said that she's coming in for a visit, along with Reito and Haruka," Natsuki explained, "They'll be staying in the Kanzaki ancestral home for a few days, just long enough for the festival."

"What, again? They sure can't leave their spouses or lovers alone, can they," Chie grinned at the blushed three of the girls got from that. The three former council members still often travelled to Fuuka, together on some rare occasions or individually. Sometimes they even stayed for considerable periods of time while taking long commutes to their university or just skipped out altogether in the case of the former president. Graduation had been barely two months ago yet it often seemed they had never left at all.

"Anyway, about the festival," Yukino quickly interjected, "There are still a lot of things that have to be taken care of. Firstly, for this afternoon I'll need some volunteers to join me in meeting with the Festival Committee."

"Chie and I will take care of the meeting," Aoi said, "that way you guys can have some quiet time with your guests."

"That won't be necessary, I'm sure Haruka wouldn't mind helping a bit," Yukino replied, "So that's three for this afternoon. Then there's the matter of the sponsors for the after dark party."

"I've got a meeting planned with the owners of some of the finer restaurants in Fuuka tonight, they seem delighted in being considered this year," Chie said, right on cue.

"Isn't that a bit much, meeting with them and the student committee on the same day?" Mai asked.

"Oh, this is no trouble at all. Dinner for two in a luxurious French restaurant, sipping expensive wine and having your taste buds tantalised by the best cuisine money can buy. Oh no, it's not too much at all," Chie said huskily, laying a hand on Aoi's, caressing it briefly while the other girls just stared in silence. A snap and a small flash brought them out of their reverie.

"Student Council stoned or simply tired?" She said, as if reading the headline from a paper.

"Don't tease them too much," Aoi said, giving the girl next to a playful pat.

"Next item, is the location for the after-dark party," Yukino said to get the meeting back in order. Sometimes it was still hard to get used to the new council, before she never had to suffer through such embarrassments. Well, sometimes when correcting Haruka but never as frequent as now. Still, she couldn't deny that the more lively group wasn't fun to be around with.

"For this year, I was thinking we could go with the plan that didn't exactly work out last year," Yukino continued.

"There was a problem with last year?" Mai asked.

"Yes," Natsuki said, "For some reason the boat for the party sank. It got split right in two and sank to the bottom of the lake. An unexplained accident."

"Oh," Mai said, remembering the incident clearly, "Well I guess I can look into that."

"Great, if you and Tate take care of that then-"

"Wait, why do I have to do it with Yuichi?"

"He was in charge of it last year and should still know how to go about it," Yukino explained, "And I hear you two work great together."

"W-what is that supposed to mean?"

"Well, weren't you two seen just yesterday?" the chairwoman asked innocently, while Chie pushed a few buttons on her phone with a rather sadistic grin on her face. Her trusted handheld device never far away and always close to a scoop.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Mai objected, wondering just how fast a rumour could spread from just a careless remark that morning. Unless, there had been others watching.

"I believe this is what she's talking about," Chie said, showing a picture of both Mai and Tate, standing rather close on her phone. Reminding Mai yet again that privacy hardly existed in Fuuka.

"So, what happened exactly?" Natsuki asked; glad to not be the source of embarrassment for once, though that was bound to change once Shizuru arrived. For now it was her time to enjoy herself at the expense of others. Harada Chie, gossip queen of Fuuka Academy, was only too happy to relay the story as a finisher for the short noon meeting.

* * *

It was late in the day, school had ended hours ago and even most club activities had disbanded for the day. A solitary girl walked one of the many lanes of the academy alone, passing by neatly spaced trees and lamppost. Past that on either side was nothing but shrubbery, bushes and more trees. Fuuka's campus ground was nothing if not green. Well, green during the daytime at least, right now it was just a dark mass. The grey-white tiles her footsteps resounded on seemed almost blue by the shine of the lights and the darkening sky. She knew she was running late and that she still had to make dinner for her hungry roommates, but that couldn't be helped in light of the after school activities she had to partake in. Walking alone right there kind of felt foreboding, it wouldn't be the first time a girl was assaulted in such a place. With a start she realized that she was now walking the same road the vampire had assaulted girls on just such nights as this. Of course the vampire was more of a giant moth than an actual assailant, that didn't mean nothing similar could happen again. 

Looking at her shadow, cast down on the tiles in front of her she suddenly saw another shape mingle with hers. Before she could react a pair of strong arms came up around her, making her breathing catch in her throat. Her muscles tensed in response, the sure sign that she was ready to fight to freedom, any pervert foolish enough to molest her would live to regret it, but they wouldn't be glad for it.

"Don't hurt me," a voice said right next to her ear.

"What have I told you about sneaking up on me like that," Mai said in a mock berating tone, leaning back in the embrace, "You're lucky I knew it was you otherwise you'd suffer a repeat from last time."

"That was really too much," Tate winced at the memory, "So how did you know it was me? My raging masculinity tip you off?"

"Hardly," Mai laughed, "I noticed your shinai on your shadow."

"Do you have to say that 'hardly' with such blatant disregard to my sense of pride," Tate sighed.

"I just call it like I see it," Mai answered, happy for the friendly banter with him. With her being on the student council as well as serving as a mother for Mikoto and him being kept busy in the Kendo club by Takeda there were very few moments they had some time to themselves. Seeing each other in class just wasn't the same.

Stepping out of the embrace she took his hand in her own and together they went on to her dorm, unaware of an unnatural rustling in the bushes behind them. On all fours, just like a cat, Mikoto stalked out to watch the two go, her stomach rumbling with barely contained hunger. Satisfied that they were heading home and that she would soon be fed, Mikoto followed at a leisurely distance to give them at least some privacy. Though her keeping her distance might have had more to do with lethargy than actual concern for their privacy the result was the same.

The lights of the female dorm appeared quickly, and the end of the forested lane wasn't far off. Just a few more feet and they'd be in full view of the building and to anyone who happened to look out a window or pass by. Slim chances for both, but it could still happen.

"So, I guess I'll see you tomorrow in class then?" Tate said, facing Mai under the light of the last lamppost. The words came harder than usual, as if he had a lump in his throat. Her violet eyes locked onto his and he could see a blush creeping up on her face. Almost without thought he came a bit closer, and so did she.

Just a bit behind them Mikoto came strolling along, unconcerned about the intimate moment happening in front of her. Before she could get too close however a hand wrapped itself around her mouth while another dragged her behind a nearby tree.

"Shh," Aoi whispered, crouching low with the catlike girl, "Let's give them a few moments alright?"

Mikoto nodded, though she'd rather just go over to her roommate so she could get something to eat, she liked Aoi and Chie, so if they wanted her to wait a bit she would.

Mai nodded at Tate's question, closing her eyes as their mouths came closer. But just then the loud sounds of a motor cycle coming to a stop in front of the dorm with screeching tires made both of them jump back apprehensively.

"T-that's Natsuki, and I still have to make dinner," Mai managed to say, feeling warm from embarrassment, "See you tomorrow."

And with that she ran off, shouting a quick greeting to the girl getting of her bike.

Tate sighed before going on to his own dorm, "Lousy timing."

"Well, it wasn't the money shot, but this isn't all that bad either," Chie commented, watching the near kiss on the small display of her trusted phone, knowing that it wouldn't take long for this piece of gossip to spread around.

* * *

Later in the afternoon, after her classes had finally ended, Mikoto was quite literally taking a cat-nap in one of her favourite secluded spots with several of the neighbourhood's cats around her. At least as secluded as the campus grounds got during the day. In the background she could pick up the excited voices of the students working out on the athletics track behind the school. At times a few people would come by carrying various pieces of equipment, either to or from, the storage buildings around her. But she paid them no mind while she lay on the white terrace beneath a blooming pergola with rays of sunlight making it through the holes of the trelliswork. 

That's until she heard a familiar laugh coming from nearby that almost made her ears twitch. Rousing from her short slumber she saw three figures approaching her position, making her face light up as she recognized on of them in particular.

"Brother," she called out, wasting no time in racing towards him on all fours.

"Mikoto," Reito answered her, giving her a heartfelt hug when she reached them, "How's my cute little sister doing? Not giving Mai any problems are you?"

Mikoto shook her head, "That's a good girl."

"You seem as cheerful as always," Shizuru said, ruffling the girl's hair now that she still had nowhere to go, "Life's been treating you well."

"Of course, she's in capable hands now," Haruka said, but with her eyes trailing to the school it was clear she wasn't talking about Mikoto or her guardian.

* * *

Fuuka Academy's campus grounds were huge, housing not only the prestigious school, but also things like a church, dormitories, forests and a temple. All these were above ground, but few realized that there was a lot more below the surface than dirt and rocks. Tunnels and caverns, underground lakes and massive crystalline formations were but a few of these things. For ages past those massive caverns had held a secret that controlled the destiny of the world, the hidden land of Kokuyouguu. It was here that one of twelve maidens was brought once every few hundred years after a gruelling Festival. But things had gone awry at the last Festival and now the place held no more significance. The hidden land was sealed off, its lord dead and the object everything was centred about destroyed. 

Once there were eleven pillars that were the key in bringing the entrance to the hidden land to light, but those pillars had been destroyed by an android of the Searrs Foundation and now the entrance chamber didn't look much different than any of the other caves under the ground. At least, it didn't look different to anyone's eyes but hers.

The old underground shrine sounded extremely hollow, making almost every one of her movements echo back to her. Her foot bumped into a piece of debris the size of her hand, seemingly just another stone but she knew it to be a piece of one the pillars.

"So much history," she said to her silent companion while she picked it up, "Left here to crumble."

As she held the lifeless rock a few small green sparks momentarily flowed from it and, even though it was just for a moment, she felt the remnants of the pillar system when her hair turned golden. But just as soon as it started the feeling vanished again and whatever power the fragment in her hands had was gone.

"The first step seems to be a success," her companion spoke, patting her on the shoulder.

* * *

Above ground the three graduates followed in the trail of Reito's little sister as she sped ahead of them to the student council room. It felt good to them all to be back even though their last visit hadn't been all that long ago. But to the ever alert ex-president something seemed off this time. 

"Is something wrong, Reito?" Shizuru asked, taking note of the older boy's distracted expression, "You seem distracted."

"Do I?" Reito replied smoothly, "I'm just looking forward to spend some time with Mikoto, and to see Mai again, of course."

"Lecher," Haruka commented.

"Haruka, you wound me," he joked, but still Shizuru wasn't completely convinced. It seemed sort of like an act somehow, but perhaps she was just reading things in her friend that weren't there. But still, if anyone had experience in pulling up a front for other people it was her and in the span of a few seconds that seemed to be exactly what he was doing.

"Mai, brother is here!" they heard Mikoto's excited voice from up ahead.

"I do hope we're not coming at a bad time," Reito said amiably, with his sister clinging to him again the moment he set foot inside the student council chamber. With the whole of the group assembled and a festival coming up, he knew from personal experience the workload of the council at such a time. But that was part of the reason they had come, to see if perhaps they could help their former underclassmen. In more ways than one perhaps, he thought as his eyes trailed away momentarily.

"What he means is that we are here to provide our assistance, Yukino," Haruka declared loudly, "should that be sired."

"That's desired," Yukino corrected at once.

With the mere presence of their often far away friends the remainder of the afternoon seemed to fly by, as it always did when they came. For all the visits the three made, either together or individually, they never lasted more than a few hours on average. So even though Yukino knew they were pressing for time before the scheduled meeting she didn't object to having some tea with the entire group. It seemed a lot like old times and she couldn't help but feel uplifted to go to a meeting with her best friend by her side, even though this time she was technically in charge.

After they had al finished their first, and for four of them the last cup, the new Student Council President rose to her feet. After a moment Haruka rose alongside her, followed by Chie and Aoi.

"If you'll excuse us, we have to go now," Yukino said politely.

"Don't do anything until I can catch it on film," Chie whispered to both Mai and Natsuki as she left, leaving the two girls behind with their guests. The ever observant Kyoto girl didn't miss the exchange and the slight blush it left on her friend, so still under the watchful eyes of the retreating messenger she scooted a bit closer.

"If you're getting too warm we could go somewhere cooler, and private," she said.

"Sh-Shizuru!" Natsuki exclaimed, her face now red as a beat.

"Is Natsuki sick again?" Mikoto wondered, remembering the only time she had ever seen the older girl sick clearly.

"No!" Natsuki cried out at once, for her part she also remembered the time she had fallen ill after an ill-fated hitchhiking attempt. All she had wanted then was to be left alone to recover, albeit with some help of Shizuru. Instead just about everyone had come to her small apartment to see how she was doing, starting off with her current two roommates. That hadn't been so bad, aside from the undressing and prodding by the older of the two girls, and she had enjoyed a nicely cooked meal. But then others came including Midori and her drive to get her to join in that bloody cooking competition to make up for a failing grade. She still shuddered at the thought of that old medicine for curing a cold with green onions, very large green onions.

Everyone laughed at Natsuki obvious discomfort and even she couldn't help but smile with them. But not everything was all fun and games as every once in a while Reito kept glancing away at the walls. After the third time Shizuru caught him again, raising an eyebrow in question as not to draw the attention of the others. She knew that wasn't what he wanted, otherwise he'd have broached the subject of whatever it was that was bothering him himself. Again he just smiled disarmingly, but that didn't stop his eyes from straying to the same spot several more times after that. His suspicious behaviour made Shizuru think about what could possibly be wrong with him. It had started after their return to the academy, or had she just started noticing it then? Thinking back she really couldn't say if he had been acting odd before, so that made the logical conclusion that something was bothering him here. It worried her seeing him like that, not just as a friend but as a former HiME, because of what he used to be. Though that wasn't exactly fair, he had been possessed during the Festival while she, who had done equally abhorrent things, was not. Doubting him was the last thing she had the right to do.

Maybe she did understand his unease, just thinking about what she had done before made her feel dejected and in Fuuka it was easy to think about those things. Like her Reito had his fair share of bad memories to lose himself in. Glancing over at Natsuki, who was still the only real source of light in her existence she resolved herself to just have fun while being around her and worry about both their issues later.

* * *

Close to sunset Kanzaki Reito found himself climbing the last steps up to the shrine of Fuuka, managed by the Munakata family. The rustic scenery was one of tranquillity and peace, and once it had appeared like that to him as well. But things had changed since then, now he could only see what this place covered up. No matter how much he tried to hang on to the happier memories of before the Festival, before it had taken him over, most of the times he found that he could not forget. Happy memories of a place shifted just as easily to bad ones in the blink of an eye. 

Even after finding out the truth about himself he still went by the name of Kanzaki and not Minagi, the latter name held to much bad connotations when he applied it to himself. Minagi Reito, a past self he barely remembered, had been a boy so subverted by the being inside of him that he had manipulated his younger sister into so much devotion that she ended up in constant training to be worthy of serving him. To eventually end up killing the old man that took care of her to follow his trail to Fuuka. As far as he was concerned it was better he did not remember fully.

The shrine grounds were empty, for which he was grateful, the last thing he needed now was to explain what he was doing and risk more people getting involved. At the back of the terrain he entered the smallest of the buildings set against the mountain itself. For years it had served as storage for the keepers of the shrine, but it was actually one of the entrances to the underground chamber that held the pillars of sealing. It was supposed to be kept under lock and key, but the lock had already been tampered with before he got there. Of the top of his head he could name the locations of many entrances to the underground shrine, such as the library or the sewage exit at the beach, but those were unlikely to be the ones used. For one the beach exit had been cemented shut and the library was to open to get in undetected. No, out of all possibilities this one was the best. Once the cave behind the building had been sealed with an Orphan, but that one had been taken care of already, leaving it free. The broken lock was enough evidence to know that he was following the right track.

With his footsteps echoing through the cave passages just like those of the intruders earlier he wished he had been free to come sooner, but there was no way he could've left Mai and the others without suspicion. Shizuru suspected trouble already, but gladly had let that pass. At the end, at last, he reached the chamber with the debris of the pillars, their bases still visible but otherwise destroyed. The destruction of the pillars had set in motion the end of his long nightmare, but getting back there now, seeing them destroyed, gave him no satisfaction.

"Well, hello girls," he said amiably, "You really shouldn't be here, these caves are off-limits for safety reasons. Though these caves might seem quite strong there's still a high possibility of collapse."

"That is correct, this place is dangerous, but not for the reasons you might want us to believe Dark Prince," the oldest of the two, wearing the uniform of the academy's high school students, said.

Inwardly he frowned, though outwardly he only showed a smile. There was only one person who had ever addressed him with that title and had the knowledge of what the chamber was about. That they were there in conjunction with the nostalgic tugging he had felt all afternoon were worrisome at best and horrifying at worst. The beast inside him, finally expelled after so many years, had created similar stirrings in his heart at the dawning days of the last Festival when that beautiful but dreadful star had come closer. Back then it had whispered to him, with increasing power, that his memories were false. That the person he thought he was, Kanzaki Reito, was nothing more than a faded shadow, an empty vessel meant to contain it, a borrowed body with no value of its own. It had stirred inside of him, sometimes thrashing about like a caged animal, continuously plaguing him with what it had been doing for centuries and what it meant to do again with his body.

"Searrs Foundation," he said smugly, "Now what are you people doing here now? You'd think that after your previous failures this would be the last place for you to come back to."

"Perhaps it seemed like failure to lesser minds, but we of Searrs can look beyond the obvious and to the future of our ideal golden millennium," the older of the two said, standing now between him and the girl in the junior uniform of the academy. Whatever it was that they were doing, she was shielding the younger girl from him. Back when he had still been a member of the student council he had known the names of every single student, so unless she had recently joined he should still know it.

"How good for you Laura," he said, calling her by her name solely to demonstrate that their knowledge of him gave them no advantage, "But still your coming here is a bit too late, the star has been destroyed so this place holds no more power. Your precious golden millennium will just have to do without the higher order matter."

He was hoping to sway them off the path they had embarked on, trying to place the idea in their minds that what they were doing was a hopeless cause. But then the younger girl just laughed as if he had just told a joke.

"You can't fool us, I've felt the power of this place, I connected with it," she said, "You felt it too, otherwise you wouldn't be here."

She was right; he had indeed felt what she was trying to do. Even after the beast had left him it seemed that he was still sensitive to the presence of the star and higher order matter.

To his horror he could only watch in vain as the girl's hair, as she stood in the middle of the circle of broken pillars, rose up to shine with a golden light. Again he felt the same wrongness he had felt before, only this time it didn't end after a few seconds. For only a moment the red mark of Searrs, the one they had used to control Orphans in the past, glowed a malicious red, sending a tingle through the girl's leg. At the same time all around Fuuka thirteen other girls felt a very faint momentary burning on their own skins were the mark of the HiME used to be.

"Another fake," he said through gritted teeth, shielding his eyes with his arms as the light's intensity only increased. It was but a fraction of what the star had been capable of, but connected to the system that had been responsible for materializing the true Kokuyouguu it might actually be possible to rematerialize the star itself. That was their true purpose he realized in horror, but there was nothing he could do about it now as he felt the girl's power weakening him to the point that he was falling into darkness.

"No, not a fake, but the true Valkyrie that will open the gates to Valhalla," she declared as darkness was about to overtake him, "Dark Prince, I'll show you how wrong you were when you believed everything was over."

His last thoughts went out to Mai, the girl in which he had placed all his hope of freedom. When she had revealed her powers to him he had felt a spark of hope, that maybe she could free him from the beast inside of him with her flames. That was why he had continually tried to seek her out, but all that had done was to make the beast inside of him lust after her with all the intensity with which he had tried to cling to her for release. It had held no more interest in her than in any of the others, but because of him that had changed, giving her only more sorrow than she'd have otherwise had to face. Last time he couldn't do anything and to his deepest regret he could only lament that he had failed her once again. When he hit the ground he didn't even feel it.

* * *

Situated just about as far away from the main school buildings on the campus grounds, as was possible, was the Director's mansion. For a long time it had been the home of the previous director, Kazahana Mashiro, and her maid Fumi. Trapped in a wheelchair the young girl had enjoyed spending time in the elaborate rose gardens and the marble monument at the centre. Free from the hustle of the students or her work Mashiro had enjoyed the peace and the tranquillity the secluded spot offered her. 

That seclusion now offered another group the respite they needed for their operation. Under cover of the high hedges groups of dark clad soldiers surrounded the mansion, taking care not to let the low hanging sun cast their long shadows where they might be noticed from within the building.

At the central monument of the garden the field commander for the Searrs forces awaited the confirmation signals of all the dispatched groups. Commander West was a seasoned man and knew that for such critical operations haste only led to failure. A fact one of the two young girls that accompanied him seemed to know nothing about. The junior high girl, the central figure for their entire mission, was skipping about impatiently. He could understand her excitement, but in turn she would just have to accept his jurisdiction in this matter.

"Miss, please contain yourself," Laura admonished her. The older of the two girls was much more collected, to the point that her white hair and piercing violet pierce caused a measure of discomfort with some of his soldiers. He had heard the mutterings when they thought he wasn't listening, but such lack of discipline was quickly dealt with. They learned, as all the black ops soldiers learned, that their commander knew everything.

"Group five, in position," the voice of one of his soldiers came in through the communications line. More and more of the reports came in; bringing the moment they would strike a step closer with every one. After a good minute the stream of reports stopped and West knew they had all reached their designated positions.

"We are now ready to proceed," he said to the girls. While he was the commander of the troops, he wasn't in charge of the mission. They were, though he was glad they had deferred all the details to his expertise.

"Then we go!" The younger girl said.

"All teams," West commanded over his headset, "Commence operation."

* * *

Two loud bangs came from the other side of the door, just before the locks buckled under the violence asserted on it. A platoon of soldiers rushed in, training their guns on all parts of the room. It was the same team that had done this before, the only other time soldiers of Searrs had set foot on the academy grounds. Back then they had orders to arrest the Director and this time that was no different. What was different now was that accompanied with those orders came the directive to take one of their own in, the one who had previously led their mission. 

Unperturbed, her frame surrounded by a golden halo of light from the windows behind her and the desk, the blond haired girl sat calmly while all barrels levelled on her position. So young, yet she showed no fear in the face of danger, only confidence.

"Soldiers of Searrs," Alyssa asked, "On what authority are you here? No, forget that; just go back from where you came."

"I'm afraid that's impossible," Laura said, entering the room with her charge in tow.

"I have found that few things are truly impossible, Laura, Arika," Alyssa simple replied, "I have tolerated your existence in this school because I believed that your continued education here would serve you best, however I don't recall giving you permission to run amok."

"Wow, you really do know a lot," Arika said, "As expected of the golden angel of Fuuka."

"I have a message for you from Mr. Smith," Laura said, "From this moment on you are relieved of all your duties and under arrest for betraying the Foundation and its supreme goal."

Alyssa frowned angrily, she had never liked that man and likewise he had never liked her. To him she was just a tool to be used, as she knew the girls in front of her were to him, as everyone from the lowest ranks all the way to the top was. Convincing them of that seemed futile however, maybe they were even aware of it but under the delusion they could use him as he used them. If he was involved this was done on no mere whim and it explained the spurious reports she had received on several of the Foundations movements. In comparison it seemed that his intelligence operations were far from hindered. She knew that for any operation Smith might attempt that both she and Fuuka's Director were the ones who could be most dangerous to him, they possessed the greatest awareness of Searrs and its operational capacities out of anyone in Fuuka, maybe even the world.

And here they'd come at the time when they were to meet together, two birds with one stone. It would have worked too, if the mansion's only security measures were the ones put in the many blueprints. Alyssa didn't think much of the now disbanded First District, not even when they were at their best, but their prime operative, the former Director, had certainly known her stuff. Layers within layers, though those might have also been insufficient if the distressing feeling they had experienced earlier hadn't heightened their awareness. After all the cloak and dagger business they had both engaged in ignoring their instincts was not a wise idea, certainly not when those instincts had been screaming that something was wrong.

"Puri puri puri puri, Bang," Arika taunted, haughtily shaking her ass at her like an immature brat. At least that was how she had always tried to come across, but there was a wholly different character behind that immature posturing. She should know, for a long time the school had known her only as a timid and cute child prodigy. And while she was certainly a prodigy, she was far from timid.

It was still insulting to be kept under gunpoint by such a girl, but there was nothing to be done about that yet. If only Miyu were there, but she was undergoing checks in the vaults below the mansion. Somehow Smith must have gotten hold of her maintenance records. As far as planning went he had obviously gone to great lengths to make his schemes succeed.

"You will come with us now, also you will divulge the location of the hardware and the Director," Laura said, signalling the men to escort the girl out.

"Hmm, I wonder where they could be," Alyssa said, ignoring the derogatory description of her best friend. For the moment her hands were tied, but all she had to do was wait them out long enough for Miyu to return. The vault's location was known to only a few people and never written down, so she was quite safe. Alyssa couldn't help but smirk slightly, if they thought their preparations were enough they'd be in for a surprise yet. All she needed was a little time, for herself, for Miyu and for director Fumi and then she'd teach those people a few lessons in humility. The wings of Fuuka's golden angel were far from clipped.

* * *

Arika's connection with the remains of the elaborate system that had steered the red star had one more effect than triggering the Obsidian Lord's former vessel's sensitivity or to give Searrs first targets a warning in the nick of time. Inside the library, a dark and foreboding place after closing, a loud creaking noise reverberated through its many floors and bookshelves. The ground started to shake, as if the place had been struck by an earthquake. But there was no earthquake and nothing from the outside gave any indication of what was transpiring within. With a heavy set the ever closed doors, huge in comparison to everything else, had swung open. Behind it was a darkness that was heavier than even the night sky or the shadowed recesses of the library. Silence returned, one that was again broken when a shape emerged from the darkness. That being stretched out almost lazily, his return from the other side, and especially so soon, was definitely unforeseen. 

"Now then," Nagi said, "Who has been playing in my backyard without permission?"


	2. Star of Misfortune

**Disclaimer:** Mai HiME is the property of Sunrise, Bandai.

* * *

Laura Bianchi exhaled slowly; the sound of her breathing was peculiar inside the constricting space. She was the only one inside a large chamber, filled almost completely with a multitude of different machines, from external generators to a plethora of diagnostic devices, all connected to a black suit that was only a little taller than a large man. Though to anyone looking the room was devoid of human life as she was inside the very suit a group of technicians and scientists were busily observing from an adjoining chamber. High up the wall, past a pane of reinforced glass several centimetres thick, they went through their checklists.

"CPC setup complete," a technician announced, looking up from the status displays in front of him. A few excited nods followed from the people that were with him. This was the moment they had been working for so very long, a project the upper echelons of the Foundation had little faith in. Understandable, for what they were attempting went beyond all the previous attempts at harnessing the power of the coveted higher order matter.

"Neural Linkage, initialize," another voice began to speak up, and now Laura did tense up. The accomplishments of the scientists weren't her accomplishments and so she did not feel their elation at bringing their creation to full life. Around her the suit remained dark, whether she had her eyes open or not, that didn't matter in the slightest.

The next part was important for her, as the suit depended just as much on technology as it did on the human operator. And that operator was her, an honour she had been given, no, an honour she had earned, through diligent training and effort.

She felt a tingling through her body, as expected, but the real thing was different than what she had been preparing for. The small tests in establishing a limited neural link were nothing to the feeling of being truly connected to the powerful machine.

As if from a great distance she heard the words spoken, "Complete."

Now she knew that the connection had been made, even if they hadn't confirmed it to her, for around her the dark helmet was no longer dark. She could see through the machine's eyes into the chamber beyond, a mere thought changed the normal vision to the infrared spectrum and back. Gauges and lights danced around her head and she willed them to stop. For a moment they did, but it didn't last long. A sigh escaped her lips; it would take her some effort to fully control the device.

"Confirmed control, neural link established," Laura spoke, not only through the microphone in front of her mouth but also through the vocal processor of the suit.

Another cheer erupted from the assembly in the control room, but they weren't done yet and they knew it. While the basic functions of the dark suit, as well as the compatibility of the pilot were important it wasn't the true focus of the "SERVANT" project.

"Meta-parameters set, Z-Type Reactor critical, power flow, zero," the lead technician reported and the scientists held their breaths. They were anxious to show their superiors that it wasn't only the prime research division, among them the likes of Joseph Greer and his android, or the late Kuga Saeko and the research that had led to the creation of the artificial Valkyrie, Alyssa, that could show results. They believed they could go further, and as the three hundred years since the last Festival were running out they were driven to make their own mark.

Standing leisurely against the back wall of the control room John Smith, ostensibly the chief of the "Public Relations" Division, watched the proceedings in silence. Webs within webs, his preparations for his final contingency were coming along nicely.

"Second type, Highly Advanced Materializing Equipment," Laura spoke, "System start."

* * *

**Mai HiME: The Golden Millennium**

"_**Star of Misfortune"**_

* * *

Pain wracked his body, either from the fall or the attack that had caused it, or more probable, from both. With great effort, for he found that he was more tired than he could remember ever being, he opened his eyes, fully expecting to be imprisoned by the soldiers of the Foundation. The cavern was as it had been before, sparsely lighted and, with the exception of his own presence, empty as it should be.

Reito groaned, forcing his body to move, to come back to his feet. How long had he been unconscious, he wondered. Whatever operation his assailants had planned was sure to be under way, maybe it was already over.

The intentions of the Searrs Foundation in the cursed land of Fuuka had never been a mystery, what they were after was control over the maidens of the Festival, the ones they called the Valkyries, and through them the very star that had determined the fate of the world for uncountable centuries. Valkyries, an apt name, in Norse mythology they were the elite troops of the chief god Odin. Heroic women in life who continued to serve as legends in death. Fitting for the girls who served the Obsidian Lord's schemes through turmoil in life and then, through the Pillars, in death.

Even with the destruction of the star it was now clear that they had not given up their goals in the slightest.

And now they had accomplished what should have been impossible, to forge a connection between a girl and the power to materialize higher order matter, the very energy that had knocked him out none to gently.

The next step was sure to be to neutralize all the HiME, as they had tried before. Slowly, in the dimmed light of the chamber and the broken pillars, he started to walk back out to the surface, step by arduous step, with his vow driving him on. He had failed once, but never would he let the people he cared about be thrown into another nightmare. His progress was slow, certainly at first when he could barely move his body without fainting on the spot, but as he pressed on the flashes of pain that shot through his nerves started to lessen and, eventually, disappeared in its entirety. He just hoped, a feeling that grew weaker when he left through the temple shed he had come in by, when he saw that it was already night, that he could get to them in time.

* * *

Crouched on all fours as if sniffing the ground for the scent she was looking for, Mikoto moved through the gathering gloom in search of her brother. They were supposed to eat dinner together, but instead he had not shown up. Her brother, missing again, wasn't something she even wanted to consider. Before Mai had been able to call after her, either to tell her to stop or to be careful, the catlike girl had already bolted out of the third story window and into the gathering of trees.

But no matter where she looked, she couldn't find him on the campus grounds anywhere. Looking about she felt uneasy, even under the covers of the trees and the undergrowth. The night was surprisingly quiet, even the night critters like the crickets were silent.

When the doors of the church opened her sensitive eyes picked it up immediately by the change in the lighting. Brushing some shrubbery aside, she peered out, recognizing the person leaving and feeling some disappointment that it wasn't her big brother. But maybe she could help her nonetheless.

* * *

Replacing the habit, that ridiculous black robe she was forced to wear, into the large dresser Nao returned to where she had placed her school uniform. Or, as she was fond to calling it, the pedo-bait. Luring men into dark alleys only to rob them blind, since she had lost Julia she hadn't done it much anymore. The risk now was greater, as she had unfortunately found out after she had been beaten squarely by Fujino, that bitch. If her powers, and her mother, hadn't returned to her in the last second that mob would have taken her.

Standing only in her underwear she took her time in getting dressed, though she had a meeting planned with a rather annoying little girl it didn't matter much to her if she had to wait. There was always business enough anyway, especially since she had been made to work in the church, an offset to her less than exemplary behaviour. Indeed, sending problematic people to the church had often produced a change of heart. Sister Yukariko called it redemption from the troubles of overwhelming youth, but others called it by its more accurate name perhaps, traumatisation.

She had the church beat though and instead of reforming her, making her break with her sinful ways, the old building had become instead a new venture for her, giving advice to the girls who needed it. For a price, of course.

A much safer way to get some cash, though not remotely as profitable as just swindling it from degenerate guys was. Nao did want to break with that lifestyle, but it wasn't because of the preaching of the older Sister now in charge as she considered that little more than hypocritical bullshit. A woman who still couldn't take the honest, well mostly honest, talks with her inside the confessional had no right to lecture her.

Now dressed Nao quietly went outside, starting on her way to a quiet pool nearby in the forest. Better to get that over with and go back to her dorm as she found she was in no mood to go roaming the streets again tonight. Every time she did she wondered what her mother would think if she really knew what she was up to, or maybe the older woman already did. Already she had discovered that the innocent girl she had left behind when she had fallen into a coma had changed a great deal, with no innocence left in her young eyes, only a barely disguised bitterness with the world. Nao tried the good girl routine with her mother, the last thing she wanted was to upset the only one who really loved her, but sometimes the mask slipped. A few pointed looks, a sarcastic remark, were a few glances for her mother into the girl she had become.

She didn't go out baiting guys that much anymore, not because it was dangerous to her, though it certainly was, but because of what it would do to her recovering mom should she get hurt. One time since her mom's recovery and the loss of her claws and Child she had gotten on the wrong side of a pair of fists. Though she had gotten the guy down in the end, utilizing his key weakness by placing a knee in his crotch and a blow to his neck, there were only so many times you could say you fell down the stairs. That was assuming nothing worse happened, something she couldn't cover up with a lie.

Barely a few steps away from her 'office' Nao abruptly came to a stop as she saw a dark shape moving rapidly towards her, its speed too great to make even the thought of moving out of the way. So, before she knew it, it crashed into her, sending them both tumbling down in a small heap.

"Ouch," Nao involuntarily uttered, landing roughly on her behind. As if on instinct her left hand tensed, as if to slash at the assailant with a pair of claws, even though she didn't have her element anymore she could still make some ugly scratches with her own nails. Adrenaline pumped through her veins, a familiar feeling for the girl when she went hunting and, if she was honest with herself, a most pleasant sensation.

"Nao," Mikoto said in a whine, looking down at the prone girl beneath with imploring eyes.

* * *

"Why have you brought me here?" Alyssa called out. Her voice was rarely raised, but under the circumstances that could hardly be avoided. The wind blew strongly around her, whipping her blond hair around with little trouble. The square platform she had been made to stand on offered little shelter for the nightly winds.

The rebuild suspension bridge, with several opposing pairs of pillars keeping the road aloft, stood alone in the watery expanse. No mountains, trees or buildings, were anywhere near enough to keep the natural elements at bay.

Standing alone on one of those large towers of concrete Alyssa glared at the equally solitary girl standing on the other side.

"Straight to the point," Arika said with a mock sigh, "Can't you take a moment to enjoy the scenery?"

Alyssa did not respond to the taunt, nor did she let her eyes wander to what was around her. Stars, their twinkling white, were set serenely in the darkened sky. Beneath them the water broke on the pillars and further away the trees ruffled in the wind. On the water separating the two land masses that the bridge sought to connect a cruise ship sounded its horn. If she had been there with Miyu she would have enjoyed being on top of the bridge, vulnerable to the elements, but her best friend wasn't with her.

"Insolent little girl," Alyssa said again, her voice strictly business, "I ask again, why have you brought me here."

"It's a symbol," Arika said, recalling the suggestion Laura had made to her.

"You tested your power here once before, a signal for the Golden Fleet to move in. Now I'm going to do the same, only I won't fail."

"What power are you speaking of?" Alyssa said, taken aback by the other girl's zeal, but trying not to show it. She only half succeeded.

"This power," Arika said with contempt for the child that, in her eyes, was a failed experiment. Her auburn hair, tied in two braids that fluttered in the wind, turned completely gold, glowing as her body started to glow. All over Fuuka thirteen girls felt a burning sensation on their skins, each of them in a different place, but all of them the same.

Now Alyssa showed, for the first time during the encounter, her obvious surprise as she looked upon a visage she only knew from a mirror. So she had told the truth after all, like herself Arika was an artificially created HiME, but what she was doing was supposed to be impossible. With the collapse of the Star none of the HiME, Alyssa included, had been able to use the higher order matter. Her widened blue eyes looked to the moon that shone behind the glowing girl where a twisted form materialized out of nowhere, blocking part of the sphere from sight. The red Star, harbinger of many a cursed destiny, defaced the Earth's sky once more as if nothing had happened.

* * *

With some trepidation, her head often going from left to right, to the sides of the path she travelled, Shiho walked under the trees that she knew would lead her to the meeting place. It appeared before her and, had she not heard two voices talking, she would have immediately gone over to stand in the clearing the pond naturally provided in the canopy of trees. But she had heard voices and though she was doing nothing wrong, no curfew had existed in the academy for months, she did not want to be seen by just anyone.

Careful to refrain from stepping on any twigs or other things that would give her away she hid behind a tree at the edge of the clearing, looking beyond it to see who was using the secluded meeting place aside from her.

"How much longer," a girl's voice, one that she recognized as belonging to her classmate Mikoto, said. Even if she hadn't heard the words the tone was enough to display the impatience. Shiho bit her lip; she did not want to be seen by Mai's roommate and certainly did not want to let her overhear her talk with Nao.

"Not much longer," Nao replied, "This shouldn't take all that long and then I'll help you out with a brother-search, like old times. But first I have to take care of business."

Mikoto's shoulders drooped, but didn't press the issue. Nao was willing to help her, but as always that had to happen at the red haired girl's pace and not before. Briefly she considered going out alone again, but the previous lack of results kept her seated on the small wooden boardwalk, her feet dangling above the pond's murky surface. Perhaps she ought to go back home, it was very possible that her brother had returned in the time she had been gone.

Nao thought about leaving as well, though she had no real interest in looking for Mikoto's older brother she also didn't just want to return to her dorm just yet, after all the night was still young. If she was lucky the search might even prove interesting, though little of late on the campus ground had been that. Shiho was late, a rare occurrence since it was usually, and deliberately, the other way around.

Behind the tree the hidden girl started to realize that her classmate wouldn't be waiting much longer, and that if she were to leave it would not be easy to arrange another meeting. But just as she was about to reveal herself an odd tingling sensation began on the top of her head, the same feeling as earlier only this time it persisted for more than a few moments.

If she thought she was the only one to sense it she only needed to look at the two girls at the pond, both had their heads raised and were looking at the moon as it shone through the clearing, or rather at the thing that now blocked part of the moon, as well as its reflection in the quiet water, from their sight. Mikoto was the first to leap to her feet, with Nao close behind, all three recognizing the sight of the thing that couldn't be.

A twig snapped behind them from the path, as if stepped on by a heavy boot. Even before turning around Nao knew it wasn't Shiho who was approaching them. Clad in dark uniforms, all their features hidden, a group of soldiers trained their guns on the two defenceless girls.

Prudently, and not without a great amount of fear, Shiho hugged the tree that was her camouflage tighter.

"Hands above your heads," the lead soldier demanded, "and slowly make your way towards us."

Briefed on the dangers their targets had formed in the past the team leader was nonetheless surprised to see no fear in the young girls, something their ominous presence, not to mention their weapons, should have caused. Mikoto's face distorted in a feral snarl, fully intending on showing the soldiers of the Searrs Foundation no quarter. Her brother's disappearance made a lot more sense now, as well as the disturbance in the wildlife she had noticed before. They were behind it and the mere thought of her brother captured, or worse, was enough to set the protective girl into a frenzy.

Nao just smirked, putting the tingle of her skin, right where her mark used to be, as well as the reappearance of the cursed star together. If the soldiers expected them to be without weapons, they were mistaken.

Flexing her fingers she willed her old element into existence, and for the first time since that fateful day they appeared.

"Julia," she shouted next, taking satisfaction from the soldiers' start when an eight-legged form burst from the ground in front of them, imposing herself between her mistress and the unfortunate soldiers.

* * *

On a mountainous road, a range that formed a natural border for the land of Fuuka and the next prefecture, a bike rounded a corner, fast. Natsuki relished the feeling of speed, driving her bike had always been about cutting loose. Problems hardly mattered if you were racing over roads where the tiniest slip-up could send you crashing.

This time was different though and she wasn't going as fast as she could, savouring the ride more than the velocity this time around. A pair of arms gripped around her waist more strongly as she again sent the motorcycle around a corner, leaving them almost touching the ground at the sharpest point in the turn. A squeal, barely audible through two helmets, escaped her passenger and Natsuki couldn't help but grin. In just about any situation she could find herself in with Shizuru this was the only one where she was truly in control.

But was she really in control, she wondered as her face flushed. Halfway towards the next bend in the road, ever winding up the mountainside, her passenger's grip changed as a hand came up higher, caressing her stomach clad in her tight fitting biker suit, to finally rest just below one of her breasts.

She could just imagine the flirtatious smile Shizuru must now be wearing, but she made no move to stop the older girl from holding on to her like that, though she did question whether that squeal earlier had been wrought of fear at all. Most of all Shizuru held complete faith in her and probably, no matter how wild the ride, would not feel afraid at all. Did I miscalculate? She asked herself; instead of pulling one over on her passenger she seemed to have done the reverse. The display of obvious affection didn't set her at ease as she was still unsure of how to deal with such intimacy.

Unlike the teasing of student council members Chie and Aoi there was no romantic relation between her and Shizuru. She loved the older girl, but to her it still wasn't the same as the romantic love she couldn't reciprocate. Fortunately for her Shizuru seemed to understand this once again, and after a few odd days, weeks, after the end of the Festival their relationship had pretty much returned to the way it had always been. Pretty much, but not completely, considering the unabashed caresses that came her way every now and then. Not too much, lest it upset her.

Natsuki did wonder though where most of her discomfort had gone off to. At first the thought of Shizuru kissing her and touching her like that had send her reeling, but now she found, as time went by, that it didn't bother her quite as much. That last touch even felt kind of…nice.

Her blush deepened, her thoughts touching upon the memories of going bra shopping with the older girl, in the early days adding to her already formidable collection and, after its horrible demise, to find replacements. Shizuru had a way with touches that felt better than they should.

Easing back on the throttle Natsuki slowed the bike down as they drove over a straight stretch of road, a look out spot coming up from where the whole prefecture could be observed. She remembered driving there; after hearing the truth about her mother, before she was to learn the truth about her friend, when a trap set by Nao had send her careening over the roadside. Her helmet and strong suit had kept her from more serious harm when she hit the pavement, but it was Shizuru who had really saved her then.

A lone cloud past the moon, and the road ahead became lighter, a small line reflecting the serene light of the orb in the sky. Abruptly Natsuki hit the brakes, shouting out a cry of warning, but like in her memories she had only moments before the front tire got snagged on the trip wire, sending both girls and the bike rolling on the harsh ground.

If she had been driving as fast as that first time the fall could've been truly disastrous, but this time she wasn't running from painful memories and had safely slowed down before the trap. The bike came to rest a few meters away from them, scratched but otherwise still intact.

"Natsuki," Shizuru whispered, trying to rise to her feet while throwing off her helmet. A crack had appeared in the windshield, but it had kept her from suffering the same faith. Some of her clothing was ripped from the fall, and her movements were agonizingly slow to the younger girl's eyes.

"I'm fi-," Natsuki started to reply, but the words got caught in her throat as from an alcove at the side of the road a group of masked men rushed them, reaching the Kyoto girl first. One soldier lashed out hard with the end of his gun, striking her in the back of her head. She hadn't stood a chance, going down in a heap.

Next they moved for Natsuki, who launched into a summersault, kicking out halfway against the soldier's chest. Angrily she tore off her own helmet, throwing it hard at the second soldier, whom she now recognized as belonging to the Searrs Foundation. The fall had hurt her less, for even though she had cried out for Shizuru it had only been a second before the crash, so only she was prepared. No ruinous marks were visible on her outfit; unlike the dress and jacket combination Shizuru had been wearing hers were made for this. Precisely for this reason she had been taking care not to drive to recklessly, but that had been taken out of her hands. Any pain she felt from the fall was buried under the rush of adrenaline and anger as she kicked a third soldier. But others were coming from behind her now and she knew she couldn't beat them all. Should she run, she wondered? If she was quick about it she could jump the railing and skid down the slope. It would be dangerous, but staying with the force that was coming for them was no less risky. Even as she considered her escape she knew she couldn't leave Shizuru alone.

A tingling sensation made itself known then at her side, but given the circumstances that already had her body on edge she hardly noticed it. Nor did she notice the appearance of the red star near the moon. Natsuki sat hunched, ready to spring up like a cornered wildcat, when the soldiers pointed their machine guns at her. Maybe she could get at one of them, her agility hadn't diminished in the slightest, but getting only one of them wouldn't help her or Shizuru.

A soldier behind her cried, an instant before a huge dark shape came up from the slope and through the protective railing, tearing it apart as if it was nothing. The black snake, red eyes glowing maliciously, crashed into all the soldiers behind Natsuki, its body almost touching the lithe girl's back as well as the fallen bike on its other side.

"Orphan," Natsuki whispered, her shock at the sheer impossibility of the situation only increasing, but not slowing her. Almost forgotten by the remaining troops, who let loose a barrage of bullets that did little to hurt the snakelike Orphan, Natsuki sprang up and shot past the first line of soldiers. Let them deal with the snake or vice versa, she thought, focussing her drive on the guy that had struck, in a most cowardly manner, her friend. One kick and the gun flew from his hands, another one to land on the bridge of his nose, making him reel back and away from the prone girl at his feet. Cupping both hands she lashed out one more time, a punch into his stomach to bring the man down.

"Shizuru," Natsuki whispered urgently, lowering herself to cradle her friend's head in her lap. She wasn't moving, a panicking thought laced through her mind. She looked for blood, but thankfully saw none. Not that it meant anything, if she was bleeding internally that might very well be even worse.

Now behind her shots continued to ring as magazine after magazine was futilely emptied into the dark serpent. It watched them do it until a snap of a boy's fingers commanded him forward, knocking them out as well with its heavy body.

Another snap of fingers and the Orphan vanished, leaving the mountain road in silence. Natsuki looked up from her charge to her unlikely saviour, standing nonchalantly on the railing with perfect balance.

"It's still not over yet," Nagi said, brimming with his confident arrogance, lust like she remembered him. Behind him she saw the red star shining against the moon, just like it had been the night after their victory party over Searrs, the very same organisation that had come back to haunt them now. He had stood looking over her like that then too.

"That Arika girl is the key to everything."

"Why are you telling me this," she demanded.

Nagi shrugged, "To give you a fighting chance, it's much more interesting that way."

"Another one of your games is it?" Natsuki said bitterly, cradling Shizuru even more.

"So nice to see you again too, Natsuki-chan," Nagi said, sounding so sad at her rudeness that it could be nothing else but sarcasm, "this isn't my game. At least, it wasn't yet, but now..."

Turning his back on the two girls, easily balancing himself on the narrow metal beam, he jumped of the edge, disappearing from Natsuki's sight. She knew, even without looking, that he was long gone from the mountainside ere she got up to see.

"Searrs," She said angrily, remembering her mother's death, "I won't lose another person I care about to you or First District."

She needed to get Shizuru to a doctor, and quickly, but the Hospital was too far away. Also she was sure the Foundation would block all entrances and exits into Fuuka, so she'd need to fight to get her friend the help she needed. Natsuki knew she couldn't risk that, knew also it would be nearly impossible to carry her on her bike without people shooting at her.

"Duran," Natsuki called out, her eyes never leaving the cursed star in the sky. If Nagi had returned with his Orphans, and Searrs was making its move once more into Fuuka, then maybe her powers had returned to her as well. A breeze, cold as ice, caressed her cheek, before crystals of ice shot out of the ground around her.

* * *

Hidden away in a quiet corner of Fuuka a large command vehicle oversaw the continuing operation.

"It's confirmed, the star has appeared," a lieutenant said, looking up from his observation post to the commander.

West nodded, but what he really wanted to do was curse the timing of its appearance. He had read all the reports, compounding his own knowledge of the formidable defences the small prefecture could mount in time of need, but only so long as the star the brass was after existed. Without it there were only thirteen girls, of which they had already gotten one, and no real problem for the well trained Special Forces.

It wasn't unexpected though; he had already gauged the frame of mind of the girl in charge to be somewhat impetuous. Now the star was back before the Valkyries could be safely incarcerated, making the operation all the more dangerous and, to be honest, all the more precarious. Now was the time to strike quickly before they were able to regroup and, like the previous time, launch a coordinated counter-strike.

"It's time," Commander West spoke into a special communications channel, one who brought him in direct contact with their own secret weapon. He looked towards the side wall of the vehicle, to the special launch platform. All around there were four, but at present only one was in use, only one would have to suffice.

* * *

Laura heard the command to sortie, knowing it to be too soon for that man's liking, but she could understand her underclassman's enthusiasm in these matters, for she felt it too. The reports on the last mission in Fuuka had spoken volumes of the danger and prowess of the Valkyries, but every day that she saw them in school was a day in which she knew she could beat them. Placed originally in reserve, until the materialization of the red star, she had to resign herself to only getting a small piece of the action, maybe only getting her hand at a few tenacious girls while the rest was already in their hands.

This scenario suited her better, now she could truly demonstrate all that she had done to gain mastery over the SERVANT suit, the **Se**arrs **R**esponsive **V**alkyrie **A**ssault **N**eutralization **T**askforce, her robe of battle and so far the only one of its kind.

Normally a protective battle suit it was the specialized components that made it shine and all the harder to control, but she had mastered it as much as she could in the short time that had been available between the suits completion and the end of the Festival. Still, it had been months since she had used the modes unlocked by manipulating the higher order energy released by the star, that which the Valkyries could manipulate at will.

Her cabin shook slightly, but the highly attuned dampeners incorporated in her gear evened it out before she could feel it. A launch pad extended itself to the outside, taking her with it.

"Laura Bianchi, SERVANT, taking off," she recited the proper procedure by heart. Bending at the knees the hydraulics launched her up high, far higher than a normal person ever could. The Neural Link was behaving within acceptable parameters, transforming the suit into a jet with a mere thought. Nothing appeared any different to her, though the shape of her armour had changed considerably. Once again she mentally paid homage to the scientists who had managed to harness the power of the Valkyries so that it could be used against them.

* * *

"Team seven, proceed," the leader of the eight squad announced, clearing the channel immediately after. His right hand went up, giving silent signals to his own men which they relayed with equal silent hand signs.

Carefully at first, but making haste as they left the cover of the trees the team moved to the church front entrance, sure in the knowledge that the other group would soon enter the church from the rear. Together they would corner the woman in a vice grip within the building. A simple operation, all the more so since the woman was reportedly in an advanced stage of pregnancy, and so she shouldn't be able to offer much resistance.

Ducking against the wall to the left of the door he signalled two of his closest men to knock it in, the wood splintering quickly under the onslaught. With the way open before them the leader moved in first, his men spreading out behind him, their guns covering every part of the congregation hall.

It was unlikely she had any time to prepare for their arrival, but with the likes of their targets one could never be safe enough. Wielding a bow she could attack them from a distance where she wouldn't be hindered by her decreased mobility. But there was no one there.

As the eight squad moved forward the seventh appeared from the other side, a shake of their commander's head telling him all he needed to know. The church was empty. Did she get behind them somehow and escape?

The thought settled into certainty, the Sister of the church had the ability to use illusions and she had used those to get away from them. But she was still not very mobile, so she couldn't have gone far.

"Everybody out, she has fled into the forests."

Out went both squads, following their commanders into the woods around the church, the endless woods where someone could hide in almost plain sight and not be noticed. They were professionals and, even if it took them all night, they would apprehend their targets. Of that there was no doubt in any of their minds.

Near the altar Sister Yukariko and Vlas, his eyes shining an alluring red, calmly observed the bodies of the fallen soldiers of the seventh and eighth squads, lying about the place. None of them would be rising any time soon.

* * *

"Akane, what's wrong?" Kazuya worriedly asked, dragged along by his hand through the many trees. If he thought their flight was preposterous he just needed to look into his girlfriend's face to know better, even if he didn't understand it.

It had happened at the campus gate, sudden and unexpectedly Akane had backed away from him, looking at the moon in horror. He didn't understand what she was looking at, at least not at first, nothing seemed different to him about the moon. Was it something he had done, he couldn't help but wonder, but to his recollections their date had been great.

"It's back, it's back," she had started to mutter, over and over and then he had understood, at least he thought he did. They had made a vow never to keep anything from each other and he was aware of her greatest secret, the one she had feared would make him hate her. She had told him everything, and though it was hard to believe he remembered her fight with the monster, she called it an Orphan, and then the sensation of dying.

Akane remembered that event as well in full, reliving the terror of that horrible moment in its entirety. Losing her Kazu-kun again, she couldn't face it. When he had embraced her in an attempt to sooth her she had again broken free, grabbing his hand before breaking into a dead run.

Akane didn't know where she was going, nor did he know where she was leading him, but all the shaken girl wanted was to get as far away as possible.

Neither had any idea of how long they had been fleeing, but all to soon the tree-line broke and they stood on one of the many white-paved roads within the academy's wide campus grounds. Their luck, already a doubtful matter to Akane when she had seen the red form appear out of nowhere against the backdrop of the moon, would not be getting any better.

How she had thought the nightmares were over when her most precious person had been returned to her, when she and the others had wiped out the star. It was as if waking up from an enduring nightmare, but how surprised she had been to find herself in a locked hospital room in the psychiatric ward. Last thing she remembered she had been in the bamboo grove, crying her eyes out surrounded by green sparks. Of what happened next she had only flashes, brief periods of lucidity before her mind shut itself down to protect her from the immense emotional pain. Days, weeks, she had no idea how much time had really gone by, her memories collectively not even spanning a day, let alone the period of time she knew now had actually past. Yes, she had been in the bamboo grove and, next, she believed she had been in a public restroom, giving out a cryptic warning to Shiho, who at that time did not understand a word she was saying.

But now she felt it all over again and she knew she hadn't truly gotten over it yet, her discomfort in being around Miyu, who had joined their side and had been fundamental in her getting Kazu back, had been the only sign of this. But she had refused to let herself think about it.

"Akane," Kazuya said warily, bringing the black clad soldiers coming towards them on the path to her attention. Neither of them, physically or mentally, had been around the previous incursion of the Searrs Foundation, so they didn't know of their intentions. But both of Fuuka's students were already on edge by their flight and couldn't think of these soldiers, looking menacing in their full-body uniforms and rifles, as a good thing to encounter on an otherwise deserted road in the evening.

Kazu pulled back Akane's hand and placed her behind him. A shot rang out from one of the guns in response to the movement, a direct violation to their demands.

"Kazu-kun," Akane breathed, looking at the different expressions that crossed the boy's face in rapid succession, surprise, fear and pain. He tried to act brave when he looked into her widened eyes, but even though he clutched his shoulder he couldn't hide the blood leaking from his wound quickly enough.

"Don't move and you won't get hurt," one of the soldiers cried out, but Akane no longer heard him, or anything that went on around her, the blowing of leaves in the wind, a lone cricket chirping or the heavy footfalls of military boots. She was back in that horrible place in her mind where her Kazu was dead.

"Kazu-kun?" She whispered, and then again more loudly, "Kazu-kun!"

A scream of pure agony left her mouth, overwhelming all other sounds in the area. The soldiers stopped their approach and even Kazuya fell back a step from the raw pain coming from the young girl, who shouldn't have yet known such pain but did.

Their hesitation cost the soldiers dearly, for they recognized the girl as one of their targets too late for them to act. She should've been intercepted at the gate, but for some reason she had slipped past those squads and into their zone. To late did they see that these two weren't bystanders returned from a date as a howling wind seemed to swirl around the pair.

A pair of tonfa appeared in Akane's waiting hands and her scream changed, a desperate calling from a desperate girl, "Harry!"

Again a swirl appeared in the tumultuous wind and metallic tiger, its hide shining like gold in the soft light of the moon and the more direct lights of the lamp posts around the path, came into being.

The soldiers tried to shoot, but Akane was calling again, "Love Love Tornado!"

Kazuya gaped at the devastation when the explosion of wind had passed, glad for the darkness of night to shield most of it from their eyes. One lamppost, bent in the middle, flickered off and on, giving light to the ominous sight. Lampposts were destroyed, trees uprooted. The three of them, tiger included, stood in the only spot left unharmed, the eye of the storm. Beyond that there was only a shallow crater, many meters wide, the pavement completely wiped out. Broken pieces of stone had been scattered all around, with most of the ground beneath it as well. As he looked the cloud of debris started to settle.

Kazuya gulped, none of the soldiers were anywhere in sight and he could do nothing else but consider them dead, or at the very least badly hurt, wherever their bodies had been flung to. The pain in his shoulder had not lessened in the slightest, but at that time he welcomed it, using it to keep him from going hysterical and maybe make the biggest mistake in his life. For the first time he was afraid for, and of, Akane. She showed no remorse for what she had done, though her eyes looked haunted still, it wasn't because of what she had just done. He knew he had died and his life-force stored elsewhere, but now he realized that he really knew nothing of what had gone on in the time he was gone. Part of him wanted to run far away and not look back.

"It's alright, it's alright," he said instead, taking Akane in his arms. He suppressed a grimace from his painful shoulder and knew, when she started trembling and crying in his arms, that he had done the right thing.

* * *

At the pond the dirt path leading to the wooden ramp as well as the trees beside it had turned into a different, tightly woven, forest. Thick strands, small strands, but all of them extremely sticky had transformed the dark path into a white jungle of webbing. Within it, as trapped as the trees and the dirt, was the squad that had come for them.

Nao grinned wickedly; one barrage of her Child had ended the fight before it could even begin. It was almost a shame, the men hanging helpless before here reminded her of nightly activities, of the fun she had while taking a stab at the unfair world. Again useless men had come for her, something she could hardly leave unpunished.

"Let's she what you brought with you," she remarked, passing Julia by and moving up the way to her prey, rendered completely harmless. Unlike the other HiME she wasn't sorry to see the star returned. Out of all of them, even revenge seeking Natsuki, she had used her given powers for her own gain the most and would gladly use them again. Perhaps she would even seek out more of Searrs' men; she had no doubt many more had come crawling around, to pay them back for trying to catch them. Like last time she figured she'd best have her fun and as she had been bored to begin with, this was a nice enough distraction for an otherwise boring evening.

"Nao!" Mikoto cried out urgently before the redhead had even come halfway to the men she was considering to get better acquainted with her claws, just like all the others who had underestimated her.

Reflexively she jumped back at the outcry, only just in time to see a black shape cross the space she had just been standing. Its back draft nearly knocked her over, but she held her footing, looking as the small black jet flew to the edge of the trees before flying straight up. As it slowed down the thing changed into a humanoid form and hovered out of reach above the forest.

"What the hell are you?" Nao gritted her teeth, filled with anger as she realized she could have been completely torn up by the cowardly charge.

"Valkyries," an amplified female voice coming from the hovering machine, contemptuously said, "Your opposition to the Golden Millennium has come to an end. Prepare yourselves."

"Bloody fanatics," Nao growled, then looked sideways to her two companions, "Julia, catch her when she comes near, Mikoto, you just stand back."

But Mikoto vigorously shook her head. "Miroku!" She called out, her arm raised towards the sky. Many times before her sword had come to her, but unlike the other elements this time it didn't. Tied more strongly to the HiME star and the Obsidian Lord it resisted the call of the girl who had rose up against them.

"Stay back I tell you," Nao demanded, her voice broking no dissent. She couldn't look to see if she complied though; the black machine was already on the move again.

Shifting back into a jet form it shot straight for her, but though she was ready for the move this time she could only barely jump out of the way, finishing her escape with an uncomfortable roll on the uneven ground. Small twigs and pebbles caught in her clothing, damaging her uniform, while a rock, barely as large as to fit in her palm, scraped open her elbow. The discomfort was minor though compared to a frontal hit by the black jet.

Passing over her retreating body Julia shot another large volley of webbing, but the Laura was too fast for it with her suit in jet-mode. Like before she didn't let her flight carry her far, transforming again into a human form, skidding on the dirt for a few meters before coming to a stop. A large halberd appeared in her hands, surprising all the three girls, one of whom was still hidden, as only HiME should've been able to do what the black clad girl had just done.

"An Element?" Nao questioned, her eyes narrowing suspiciously, but none of the other girls had an element like that, so it couldn't be one of them. Or could it? The halberd had some resemblance to Shizuru's naginata, a devilish weapon she only remembered all to well; only this thing was black and that girl should've had no more reason to come after her. As light-hearted as it had sounded, and a tad insincere, the graduate had apologized for her actions. More importantly though, the prideful woman would never side with Searrs.

"Who are you?"

Predictably no reply came other than a renewed rush for her life. Though slower than the jet the speed of the black suit in humanoid form was still faster than a normal human's, calling upon much of the pilot's instincts when going all out, and more than Nao could hope to dodge. The increased reach of the halberd would cut her apart if she attempted to roll out of the way again.

"Annoying pest," Nao shouted, weaving her own trademark strings from her hands to hold the halberd's blade in check. For a moment it worked, but then the blade gleamed darkly and the crimson threads broke apart.

"Got you," Laura said at the same time as Nao cried out for Julia. In complete synch with her mistress the spider Child shot out a new barrage of webbing, not aimed at their overpowering foe, but at the one who had summoned her back. The redheaded girl held her hand high, as if to strike against the armoured form with her sharp claws in a descending arc, perhaps the only chance of attack left to her before being skewered. But her arm held fast even with the blade nearly through her stomach. The webs hit her hand and her arm, the momentum of the stuff transferring to the girl.

She flew through the air, letting her own Child's attack carry her away from the debilitating strike. Laura stopped short, her halberd still aimed forward like a spear, its blade resting in the spot where it should have gone through solid flesh. Even though the orders were to capture the thirteen maidens alive, if possible, she had deemed this one to be too wild and dangerous. Her opinion changed, it wasn't just the power of the star that made this girl so much of a problem, she was just too cunning by nature.

Using her arm that was still enveloped by webs as leverage Nao flipped in midair, coming to the end of her escape flight. Feet first she hit the many layered webbings that were spanned over the previously open space of the dirt path, her left foot coming dangerously close to breaking through the protective goggles of a face mask. If it had there was nothing the man inside could do, his body held immobile by the many strands.

Nao stood upright, but vertically, against the wall, her feet sticking to those webs for a few seconds before she simply hopped down. Using her red claws to break the webs on her hand she landed lightly on her feet. Unlike her victims she could not be caught that way. Again Nao grinned, an evil gleam visible in her eyes, but to Laura it just smelled of false bravado.

Then it was her turn to dodge quickly, the thrusters on her feet and at her waist, propelling her upward just in time. In the small time she had been distracted Julia had thrust forward, meaning to disembowel her with her own barbed blade of a tail. Laura somersaulted over the spider, letting her own weapon make a full circle with her before attempting to cut away the Child's head. Another distraction interrupted her before she could make good on the opening as Mikoto threw herself against the long pole attached to the blade, her mighty jump causing the weapon to miss.

Laura tried to complete her aerial roll, but Mikoto held on tight to the pole weapon, taking her off balance. From her free hand she shot out a many-pieced metallic whip to dislodge her unwanted passenger, but the agile girl twisted around the black pole out of harm's way. Instead the tail piece of her whip hit her own weapon, its impact threatening to upset her flight further. Releasing her element and retracting her other weapon the two girls fell away from each other.

Both girls landed while Julia turned back around; now Laura stood on the wooden walkway, her way forward blocked and only shallow water on all other sides. She could still fly though and though her halberd clattered on the dirt a distance away from her she was hardly trapped.

Elongating her red claws to their full length, confident that they could cut even through the heavy black armour, Nao ran forward. This woman, this machine, or whatever it was, had to go. Only a few times before had she so truly come close to being killed and she, or it, made it all come back to her.

"Julia, cut her in two," she commanded.

Completing the turn with her eight legs Julia complied to the order, again lunging forward with her blade appendage. Laura fired off her thrusters in response, flying back over the pond and in front of Julia, leading the spider to the middle of the shallow body of water. There her advancement stopped and Laura changed tactics, becoming a jet again before taking to the air.

Nao, her feet making the wood beneath her crack and whine, clearly saw the disastrous turn her impetuous command had brought them, the loss of the halberd hadn't stopped the machine at all. The fast jet was coming down again, now behind the large spider woman. Julia couldn't turn around fast enough and the distance was too large for either Nao or the unarmed Mikoto to cross in time.

A black flash went through the Child, the only sign that she had just been cut open across the middle.

"Mama," Nao cried in disbelief, thinking the loss of Julia would again take her mother away from her. Green sparks started to form around Julia's head, her form starting to disintegrate from the top on down. Nao thought she knew what would happen, but then a stabbing pain laced through her heart. Losing balance she fell of the end of the wooden walkway, having the presence of mind to roll in her fall. For a few anxious seconds her head remained under water, her face pressed in the mud, before she rolled over. Immediately Mikoto was beside her, her young eyes filled with concern for her friend.

"Run aw-" Nao started to say, but the words caught in her throat before she could utter them fully. Was this what her mother had felt, even through her coma? She wondered as she fell into black oblivion.

"Nao!" Mikoto cried while in the middle of the pond Julia finished her disappearance.

* * *

From behind the tree, still safely hidden since the start of the encounter, Shiho also felt like screaming. She hadn't come down to the secluded spot for this; all she had wanted was some more advice from her knowledgeable classmate concerning how to deal with boys, or actually, one in particular. Her big brother, as she still called Tate, was captivated by another girl, she knew that. But she also knew that she couldn't just simply give up and that's why she had to deal with Nao, an act she otherwise would never have considered. But she wasn't like Kanzaki Reito, whose easy manner and charisma might actually sway Mai away from her big brother. She was just little Shiho, who had always been sheltered by her big brother.

"You have to be decisive," she remembered the redhead telling her once, a favourite piece of advice, "And always strike from behind if you're going after your rivals."

Back then she had balked at the thought, even though during the Festival that was exactly what she, or more precisely her subconscious, had done.

Laura, in her powerful black armour, touched down on the dirt, turning back into a human form to reclaim her weapon. Next, she would use it on Mikoto.

Decisive, and from behind, she thought, holding on to those words. In her hand a flute appeared and, with trembling hands, she brought it to her lips, playing a clear, if shrill, note.

Yatagarasu, the one legged crow, appeared out of the shadows behind Shiho, revealing both of them. It crowed loudly, and a flurry of explosive darts shot out to the grounded girl. The attack came on too quick, to sudden, giving Laura barely enough time to cross her arms in front of her.

It didn't stop the black armour long, but a few seconds was all Shiho was hoping for. If Nao couldn't beat the nightmarish creature she had no intention of trying herself. On the back of her Child she steered Yatagarasu towards the other HiME, directing him to take the fallen girl in his one clawed foot.

"Get on," Shiho urged, giving Mikoto all the prompting she needed. With Nao held by the large crow and the catlike girl, who had surprisingly been unable to get herself in the fight, a rare occurrence, holding on to her back, they flew off.

Uncrossing her arms again, seeing the smoke coming from her armour, but otherwise noting no substantial damage, Laura gripped the pole of her weapon. Heaving the blade out of the ground with little finesse she looked at the webbing and her tied soldiers, considering what to do with them. She thought about cutting them free, but thought better of it. Perhaps this would be a lesson to them. Failure wasn't something she, or the Foundation, tolerated.

* * *

With a hiss of a vacuum being broken, a soft mist spilling out of the metallic box, the lid of what looked like a silver coffin slid open. A strong, though delicate looking hand, gripped the edge and slowly the figure within sat up. She was alone in the underground chamber below the church where her equipment had been returned. The secret chamber in the Director's mansion was a secret no longer so they had returned it, with extra security measures, back to their old hideout.

Her red eyes trailed to the displays around her, trying to find a confirmation that her maintenance cycles had been cut off prematurely. Checking her internal chronometer she knew that it had not, everything had gone as it was supposed to. But then why was she alone? Why wasn't her young miss there, as she had promised? Alyssa always had something to do, but she had always made it a priority to be there when she woke up.

Resolutely Miyu ascended the stairs out of the basement, suspicions turning to fact when she entered the congregation hall. Searrs soldiers lay scattered around.

"Miyu," Yukariko said, sitting in prayer in front of the altar, her Child still facing the prone pack.

"Sister Yukariko," Miyu said, not asking how the chess piece horse had returned or what had happened to the soldiers. Only her first priority mattered, "Where is Miss Alyssa."

"I don't know, all of a sudden it came back and then the soldiers came. I had to stop them, but I can't just go out there."

Miyu nodded, inside the building the pregnant nun was at her best, surrounded by her faith. Going outside wouldn't be prudent for her, but the same did not hold for the android girl.

"I'm going to find her," Miyu said.

"I'll pray for you."

* * *

Shiho swore, a stark contrast to her good girl image, but given the situation not inexcusable.

"Lower," she said, directing their flight to skim just above the treetops. Hopefully the dark crow's flight would blend right in with the colour, or lack thereof, of the trees in the moonlight. It might have worked, but all three girls were in their school uniforms, the white fukus making too clear a contrast with the rest of their surroundings.

"What am I doing?" she asked herself out loud, confused about what part had seemed right to her. Anxiously she looked behind her, sure to see the black jet in close pursuit, but hoping that it wouldn't be. No deities were listening though; another dark form was closing the distance fast.

Even with their light uniforms the flying group was hardly visible at all by normal means, but the black armour had more than normal means to its disposal. To the heat seeking sensors the crow and its passengers were lit up like a beacon.

In the same way that she had dealt with Julia, using the sharp edges of her jet-form's nose, Laura planned to simply run right through the crow.

"Keep her safe," Mikoto said tersely.

"What?" Shiho replied, but the other girl had already let go of her waist. Before she had even spoken Mikoto had already jumped of Yatagarasu's back. Is she running away? Shiho thought with disbelief. She could understand it, wanted to do nothing else herself but get away from the black spectre that was after them.

But then she saw, Mikoto had not jumped down into the trees, but up, keeping herself in the jet's path, making a collision unavoidable. At that speed it would surely go right through her, like a knife through butter.

"Miroku!" Mikoto cried again, but this time the sword did respond, appearing in her eager hands with a red glow. The attack on her friends, she could not allow the unforgivable acts to continue. Even if it killed her.

In full flight Laura changed to her humanoid form, bringing her heavy halberd to bear. The two girls collided in mid air, both coming to a full stop as both black edged blades struck each other, sparks flying everywhere. Gravity caught them both and before they knew it branches snapped under their fall. Using all the strength she could muster Mikoto held herself above Laura, letting the armoured girl take the full brunt of their crash. Even so she couldn't prevent smaller branches from cutting into her skin. Fully in her battle fury she hardly noticed it, all of her attention was focused on her enemy.

Shiho kept her Child going, their flight taking them away from the place the two opponents had fallen into the sea of trees. There was nothing more she could do but honour Mikoto's wishes and get Nao to safety, wherever that could be found in a land overrun by enemy soldiers led by a black devil.


	3. Darkest Night before Dawn

**Disclaimer:** Mai HiME is the property of Sunrise, Bandai.

* * *

"Look carefully, make sure you take in everything," a kind-faced old man instructed, but he needn't have bothered. The six year old girl sitting beside him at the base of an old tree was already enraptured by the display. She squealed in delight, her golden eyes wide open. The old man sighed at the lack of discipline, but truthfully he was glad for the youthful exuberance, so unlike her brother. Would that the training she was to undergo not break that innocent charm, he mused wistfully. 

Several grown men, all of them carrying sharp blades, encircled the youth carefully. This was only an exhibition match, if such a term could be accurately used to describe the intensity or the skill the boy possessed in a fight. All of them used real weapons, sharpened only moments earlier for the few swords that needed it. Not so for the old blade the youth carried inside the circle, a katana forged in a time where legendary sword smiths made weapons far surpassing those made in present times. It required wetting only once every decade or so, depending on how much it was used. It rested still in its dark purple scabbard, tied to the boy's sash with red strings. The pure white hilt, inlayed with golden diamonds, basked freely in the morning sun. All the men had their weapons drawn, but not so for the boy, physically a mere fraction of their age, who hadn't even laid a hand on his own sword's hilt.

A sure sign of overconfidence, the old man had always said, seeing more than one swordsman defeated by his own ego before it had come to blows. A fight didn't start when blades connected, but instead began as soon as two opponents eyed each other, or even as early as when a challenge is made. Cockiness could defeat even the best fighter, making them underestimate their opponents and opening themselves up for foolish mistakes. In a real battle those mistakes were lethal. Similar thoughts entertained a few of the armed men, but the old man, who had seen the boy fight on many occasions, knew that it was they who were doing the underestimating.

A breeze whipped the boy's long hair, another potential weakness for enemies to exploit, to the side. Long hair could be used to grab on to your opponent, but not so with him, for he would never be caught.

As if it was the starting signal for the match two of the men rushed forward, instructed and paid not to hold anything back. One came up from the front, the other struck from behind. A pincer movement to end the fight early, the others didn't even need to move. Even if the opponent was a child, or maybe because he was a child, they had no intention of letting up. Such an opponent, on all counts overwhelmed, chafed at their sense of pride. They had been called to fight a master swordsman, in their minds such a claim could only be made by a great man, but instead they faced a child who couldn't be more than ten years of age.

Minagi Reito moved then, his sword coming out of his scabbard in a flash. Two blades struck once, twice, before the other man at the boy's back had come close enough. Not even turning around Reito easily sidestepped both men, coming up behind the first to plant his foot in the back of his knee. The man tumbled forward into the second guy. A look of disbelief flashed over his face when he saw his partner's blade sticking through his body.

Again Reito moved, using the falling man's back as a step, elevating him to the second man's level. Forced to release his sword the second fighter had no way of stopping the boy from hitting him in the face with the golden end of the sword's white hilt. Before he fell into unconsciousness he marvelled at the kid's strength.

Unrelenting golden eyes watched the other four men stop in their tracks, their disbelief at how easy the two others, who had been regional champions, had fallen. Those looks changed to horror as they realized they had to go up against him as well.

Reito lowered his blade, letting the tip rest only centimetres above the grass, inviting the men to come to him. None wanted to, but they had been paid a considerable sum for their services. More than that, they were professionals. As each gave a tentative look to the others all four rushed the boy at once.

"Watch, and learn," the old man said, and Mikoto did, wondering if she could ever be as good as her big brother.

* * *

**Mai HiME: The Golden Millennium**

"**_Darkest Night before Dawn"_**

* * *

As many paths that ran through Fuuka's wide-spread forests, grassy knolls and open fields, almost as many ran, unknown to the majority, below the surface. Some natural, most of them old, but all of them for the purpose of keeping the land's true purpose safely hidden away. All buildings were connected by secret routes, with some more covert than others to keep their existence cloaked from the watchful looks of organisations such as the Searrs Foundation and the late First District. The former director had commissioned their creation, anticipating the time when they would be needed for her own secret agenda. Those had been known only to her and Fumi and, aside from the underground laboratory, had not been needed. Up till now. 

Behind her the wall closed again, showing nothing out of place, not even a seam near its edges. Her footsteps resounded in the otherwise quiet, but not empty, library. Even before she had set foot inside she had known it would be like this.

No one tried to stop the stately woman, wearing a full piece tuxedo that was as different from her old maid's attire as night was to day. A maid no longer, it complemented her role as the Director of Fuuka's prestigious academy.

"Won't you show yourselves," she called into the dark recesses around her, to the men she knew were positioned between the many bookcases. A few seconds went by before the soldiers showed themselves, a dozen appearing all around her, guns all levelled in her direction. They had hit the jackpot, unexpectedly cornering the woman who was one of the most wanted of all their targets.

Slowly Fumi raised her arms as if to surrender, but when they came up to her chest she instead clapped them together. A huge scythe appeared when she took them apart again, startling more than a few of the men. They had been briefed, but being rational soldiers most had found the claims hard to believe. Not so anymore, with the evidence right in front of their eyes.

"This is not a weapon meant for subduing, so please, won't you surrender instead?" Fumi asked, deceptively kind. It wasn't a bluff; her element couldn't stop the soldiers without seriously hurting them. That thought didn't bother her much, these men had made their choice when they had enlisted, but nevertheless she felt compelled to offer them at least a chance to leave in peace, and in one piece.

"Fire," the lead soldier shouted, bringing the hope that things could be settled without violence to an end. At the first syllable she set off against the floor, launching herself forward at the commander. She twisted her scythe blade in front of her, deflecting the bullets coming her way, not watching where they ricocheted.

The woman could be called nothing else but fast, appearing in front of the still shooting soldier before his gun had even managed to empty a clip, something he had never seen before. People that knew her, or knew of her, would never describe her that way. Clear spoken, taking her time with whatever she did, everyone saw her as a woman who did things in her own pace, even if that pace was several times slower than others. But beneath that carefree façade and finely groomed manners, all of them needed as her previous outward job of a maid, she was also Mashiro's bodyguard and a powerful HiME, even if she had never fought in the open like the others.

Keeping the pole close to her body Fumi turned the weapon around in a full arc, the first strike cutting the gun neatly in half while the return strike shattered the headgear.

Fumi didn't wait for the man to fall down, as now bullets came at her from behind. Fast as she was she knew she couldn't hold out, the soldiers were spread around to much and sooner or later the bullets would get through her defensive manoeuvres.

A small blue flame materialized in the empty space above the ornate clock, erupting into a blue inferno. Momentarily both Fumi and the soldiers were caught off guard when another tall woman, a pair of horns sticking out of her lush bluish hair as it moved by an invisible breeze, stepped out of the flames, completely unharmed.

"Mashiro-sama," Fumi breathed.

The Crystal Princess smiled; it felt good to be back in the material world with her trusted companion. Leaving her physical form behind, as she had done when she had been stuck inside the crystal that had inspired her title, her invisible spirit had followed Nagi out of the gate. It had been a gamble, for she found herself incredibly weak, too weak to leave the library without a link in the material world. But her actions had paid off and now she had reclaimed the body that had housed her soul for many years. Even now it was still attuned to her presence and had come to her easily, eagerly even.

"D-demon," one of the soldiers said, instinctively taking a step back before his training kicked in and took over. "Take them down!" he shouted, letting a new clip of bullets accompany his words.

Mashiro leapt impossibly high, softly blowing in her right hand and for a moment a rainbow aura appeared, accompanied by a clear chime.

Not all soldiers had come out of hiding at Fumi's call; one had kept himself behind the many layers of book and ancient wood to get into a favourable position. Guns wouldn't help much against the newly arrived demon, but they would do the trick with the woman. Now, behind her, he wasted no time in firing. To her credit Fumi immediately spun around to bring the blade of her scythe in the bullets' path, but the shots had come from too close by. Then they just stopped in midair, held in their place by Mashiro's summoned barrier, rainbow coloured ripples showing emanating from the impact points.

"Let me handle this, Fumi," Mashiro said, landing on the ground with a resounding thud. Like lightning she sprang up, moving even faster than Fumi had. Her twin blades whirled around faster than the eye could see. Mercilessly the soldiers were cut down in front of her terrifying display.

* * *

"I'm already too late," Reito said, standing near the edge of the crater. He had heard the deafening sound of the blast coming down the mountain from the old temple. Was it Mai who had been attacked here? Why would she be out there? But he could think of why she would, he was now running extremely late for their dinner date. Just a small group, almost like a real family, the kind of thing he could not offer his little sister whom he still did not fully remember. Was that because he was still denying his memories or did he not have any shared memories of Mikoto to recall. 

He scanned the damage, the broken lamps, the few still standing bend in odd angles, all away from the small spot that had to be the centre, a small piece amid the crater that was still intact. Though it was certainly a devastation Mai was capable of, it wasn't her. Mai of the flame, but there were no scorch marks. It was more like wind, a small but powerful tornado.

"Wow, Akane sure knows her stuff," a mocking voice spoke right behind him, "scary."

"Nagi," Reito confirmed, not at all surprised by his sudden arrival. From the corners of his eyes he looked at the red star in the sky. No, he wasn't surprised at all that the insidious manipulator had returned. What remained to be seen was what the little imp's role was going to be.

"Bingo," Nagi said, matching Reito's glare with his own arrogant smirk, "But who would have thought it, and all for the fear of losing her precious again."

"Higurashi Akane, second year, class B," the former student council vice-president said, recalling what he knew of her. Her role in the Festival had been minor, he recalled, but he couldn't help but wonder how things would have gone differently if she hadn't been defeated by the Searrs android. Perhaps, considering the crater, she could have even been a match against Mai, given the proper preparations for her mental state. No, that was the Obsidian Lord's line of thought and he wanted nothing to do with it.

"What do you want, Nagi," he said resolutely.

"I have something that requires your skill, Kanzaki, no, Minagi Reito," Nagi said, putting emphasize on the name the Obsidian Lord's vessel was renouncing. From behind his back he revealed a sheathed katana, quickly retrieved from the deepest coffers of the Kanzaki estate. A blade Reito could neither stand the sight of nor stand to lose. One of the few remaining links to a past he did not want but that had formed him into the person he was now.

* * *

Cloaked in shadows, hidden within the concealing leaves and branches of a tall tree, one of many all around, Fuuka's secret ninja counted the number of men carefully moving through the forest beneath her. There were seven, just like the last count a few trees back. They kept close together, back to back, looking for the enemy that had already taken out half their number. One soldier seemed to look right at her, but a moment later his gaze went to another treetop, the sound of rustling leaves in the wind startling him. 

It was almost too easy luring these men into the trees where she was at her best, this wasn't the first squad she had taken down this way. Akira waited a little longer until the group had all moved below her. Then her hands shot out, once, twice, three times, pumping out three sharp projectiles at the rear of the group. At the same time she leapt away, agilely going from branch to branch to another tree, her eyes never leaving her targets as her training demanded. A ninja caught off guard was a ninja not worthy of the name.

Two of the projectiles struck their marks, taking down two of the uniformed soldiers. But the third soldier, whom Akira recognized as the one who had looked straight at her, knocked the shiruken away with his gun. Immediately he started shooting at the branches she had been at before, determining with great accuracy where the projectiles had originated, or perhaps he had seen her but not let on, hitting nothing but wood and air.

Other soldiers, driven to desperate acts by the unknown assailant as she took out their compatriots, added their own firepower to that of the shooting soldier. The first soldier realized first that he was accomplishing nothing, but before he or the others could stop their barrage another attack came, again to their backs. That was the sole consistency in their encounter with the ninja. She always hit them from behind. The soldier started to turn again when he realized this, but by then Akira was furiously pumping her hands, sending out her bladed projectiles once again, an almost unending wave of them. Playtime was over, this time no one managed to dodge.

* * *

Natsuki drove fast, always on the lookout for more traps, more soldiers, but finding none all along her route. Though she was unaware of the other girls fighting she profited from their actions as the number of strike teams placed around the campus grounds had fairly diminished. 

Rounding a last corner, the large academy buildings now clearly in front of her, she found herself driving towards a barricade, an assault vehicle, and a great many guns pointed her way. These guys had seen little action so far in quarantining the roads leading to the college.

In the quiet evening her bike had given her away before she had even come close to her goal. She considered briefly to turn back, but dismissed it almost as fast. The school, and more importantly, the infirmary, was only one blockade away. Shizuru had not come to, and her breathing had become worryingly shallow. Natsuki feared she might not make it to a real hospital, so she couldn't stop now.

Guessing the distance and the range of the guns, she put her bike in a sideways slide, stopping just out their range, or so she hoped. A small flash and one of her small guns rested comfortably in her hand.

"Duran," she said softly, so the soldiers couldn't hear, to the silent wolf companion she knew was close by, "On my signal, move beyond them to the school. Bring Shizuru to safety."

Ever loyal Duran only gave a slight whine to show he did not like what she was planning, but as always he would go along with her wishes. On his back he carried Shizuru, whom he clearly recognized as his mistress' most important person.

"Go," Natsuki called out, revving her bike and again racing towards the barrier. Veering left and right, evading the first shots more by luck than skill, she returned fire with her one gun, keeping the bike going with her other hand.

Outracing even her bike Duran suddenly jumped out of the shrubbery, over the startled soldiers, and giving a mighty howl. Landing lightly on his four paws he didn't stop, but followed his orders to get to the building.

Icy bullets knocked down a few of the soldiers, but then one of their shots hit one of her rear-view mirrors in an odd angle. With only one hand on her steering wheel Natsuki couldn't prevent the wheel from slipping. Again her bike started to tumble, but before she could fall she jumped off, calling forth her second gun.

Landing in a roll, with bullets clattering all around her, she dashed sideways, zigzagging along to the wooden barricade. If she could reach them, engage them in close combat, he smaller guns would give her an advantage over the submachine guns. She could shoot freely, with no worry over shooting an ally, where the same could not be said for them.

But she was still too far away, her shots hitting only wood and whatever else the stockade was made of, while the enemies got closer to her with ever shot. Then disaster struck as one bullet grazed her shoulder. Crying out, only a bit more in shock than pain, she lost her footing and went down. Believing herself to be dead she was surprised when the soldiers stopped firing.

"Drop them," a call came and she knew that if she didn't comply they would shoot her anyway. Natsuki sighed, willing the guns away. If they kept her alive she would get a second chance at them sooner or later. What was important was that at least Shizuru had made it to the school. She could only hope someone was there to look after her, since she wouldn't be making it.

"Ga-Ku-Ten-Ou!" an enthused shout, stressing every syllable, came to her, followed by a loud crashing and screams. Midori, element in hand, stood firm in her Child's chariot body as they broke the blockade and the assault vehicle, with ease, sending soldiers crashing to the ground. Natsuki barely kept herself from breaking down in laughter; again she was unexpectedly saved in the nick of time. Midori though was a far better sight for sore eyes than Nagi could ever hope to be.

With a skid the chariot halted in front of the prone girl.

"Need a ride?" Midori asked coyly.

"Shizuru?" Natsuki replied instead, shaking her head at the offer. She had come this far on her bike so she would finish that way, even though her shoulder stung like hell. There was someone more in need of assistance than her.

"Don't worry, we've got her," Midori confirmed, and a feeling of pure relief filled her. That proved her undoing, for in letting go of her drive, the fuelled desperation for her friend, she felt all the abuse her body had suffered. Up till then she had suppressed it all behind adrenaline, but now it enveloped her all at once. Her upward motion abruptly reversed direction and she slumped to the cold stone, knowing no more.

* * *

"What could you possibly hope to accomplish by all of this?" Alyssa said coolly. If she was daunted by the furiously glowing girl on the opposite column she gave no sign of it. "That star does not lead to happiness; it won't lead to the promised golden tomorrow." 

The young girl's duty had been clear since birth, or rather, since she had been created as an artificial Valkyrie. Despite all the denigration she received for being a lab experiment, a clear mistake to more than just a few of the people she had been around, she had held on to that duty. Her success would vindicate her to all the people who had scorned her for being what she was, that was what she had believed. The Golden Millennium would be achieved by her hand and she would be with her kind protector, her only real friend, forever. It had taken the actions of children, whom she had considered beneath her, as well as the betrayal suffered by the Foundation that had been at her back, that had given her its very name for herself, to show her how wrong she had been. The Festival and the Star were nothing but seeds of pure unhappiness and misery for as long as they existed.

For all the power, and that power had certainly felt good to the young girl who had been ridiculed by those she had believed her betters, she had never been appreciated by them. She had been praised, as a prodigal singer, by those she had deemed inferior. Now she was glad the star had been destroyed. A future made through that star would soon enough turn again to misfortune.

Arika however did not have her change of heart and believed fully in what the Foundation had envisioned. The older girl thought Alyssa a fool for denying their supreme will. When she had been approached to become their holy warrior, her body changed by the data gained from the first successfully created Valkyrie, she had never felt happier. She owed them, and would not be a disappointment.

"You don't know anything," Arika countered. Filled with that tantalizing golden energy, urged on as if she was whispered to by the Star, she would not be swayed, "This is where you will end."

Arika hadn't planned on killing her rival, but the more she thought about it the more right it felt.

"Apollo," she called out confidently. Nothing seemed to happen, but then a golden spot appeared above the water, swelling fast into huge proportions, nearly enveloping the bridge but stopping just a hand away. The dark sky became light with a golden aurora borealis gracing the firmament. Under its golden light, taking away many of the concealing features of the land, the golden ball broke apart to reveal Arika's Child. A huge spinning top, gold and pink, rested on the water's surface.

Arika looked at the young child smugly, sure of her triumph, but the serene expression on Alyssa's face did not belong on a girl about to be crushed.

"If this is how you want it," Alyssa said, taking the black ribbon out of her hair with a quick pull. Like Arika's it started to shine with a golden light, flying freely behind her.

"Artemis."

* * *

Natsuki woke up quickly enough, to find herself propped against in the school's small infirmary. At first she did not know where she was. In her disorientation she tried to rise, to come up with the wall as her brace, but the sharp pain that ignited in the shoulder she wanted to use as leverage put her back down fast. 

The pain triggered her memory and she knew again how she had gotten hurt and why.

"Shizuru," she cried out, alerting the others in the room with her.

"She's lying in a bed, Yoko's looking after her right now," a familiar voice said. An oddly white hand with elegant pinkish nails offered to help her up. Slowly, leaning against the strange woman's ragged garb, an old white priestess robe, Natsuki rose to her feet. She looked at her benefactor then, at the horns coming from her pretty face and the intense golden eyes she had only seen before on Mikoto. Still the familiarity of the voice nagged at her, but there wasn't a Child that looked like her, for she could be nothing else, nor were there any that could actually speak. When she talked to Duran he understood her and she knew what he meant with his looks and growls, but it was never like this.

"It's good to see you again too, Kuga-san," the unknown Child spoke.

"Director Mashiro," Natsuki said in disbelief, finally putting two and two together.

"Former Director," Mashiro corrected airily.

Letting go of her hold on the tall Mashiro she stepped back. It was hard to imagine that the wheelchair-bound child, who had been the victor of a Festival before even the time of their grandparents' grandparents, was the same as this tall woman.

Natsuki looked at the two beds in the small, too small it now seemed, infirmary. Anaemia, students playing hooky and the occasional bruises and scrapes, had made it ill prepared for the events of the night. In one bed she saw Shizuru with the school nurse standing over her and in the other saw Nao, lying like the dead. A worried looking Shiho sat on a stool next to the bed while the Director, the current Director, was helping Yoko with Shizuru while keeping an eye on Nao for any changes.

"Nao," she muttered as she looked at the self-sufficient girl lying helpless. She recalled the last times she had seen her in a similar state, when her Child had been defeated by the girl gracing the other bed with her presence.

"Shiho brought her in," Midori commented from Yoko's desk. Natsuki wondered what the older teacher, returned to Fuuka for the newest semester after gallivanting around with her own beloved professor in places unknown, was still doing in the school at this time of night. It was no secret she usually left school as soon as she could to go wander around the many sights of Fuuka, still searching out things to make her thesis grander or to check out many a bar in the nearest city. Midori, as always seventeen years old, was still living the wild life. A few empty bottles of alcohol on the desk told her enough of why both she and Yoko were still there, and she was glad for it. If not, if they had not been there, she didn't even want to consider what would have happened.

"What has happened?" Natsuki asked.

"A demon," Shiho blurted out, still sounding obviously distraught.

"A demon?" Natsuki echoed incredulously, but the look that came her way convinced her that whatever it had been it was probably monstrous indeed.

Quickly Midori relayed what little they had gotten out of the girl who had reached them in near hysterics. The first part sounded very much like Nao, taking care of the soldiers with ease, but what happened then, even from the objective retelling from the often eccentric teacher, made her distinctly uneasy. Nao beaten and Mikoto missing, and all by one being. Natsuki also felt some admiration of the girl, who had struck only from the shadows before, and her uncharacteristic display of bravery.

"Her mother," Natsuki blurted out, remembering who Nao's most important person was, "Is she?"

"Her mom?" Yoko, unaware of the rules for losing your Child, asked, "What does she have to do with it?"

The others caught on to her question though, all of them had felt the bitter pain of losing their most precious one.

"When a Child dies, so does the HiME's most important person," Midori explained, the one part about the Festival she hadn't wanted to go into anymore. All of a sudden the entire thing seemed to make more sense to the nurse, who had only pieces of the tale to work with.

"I believe she's probably all right," Mashiro said.

"What makes you say that?" Midori questioned.

"In the old system the Pillars absorbed the life force of the person most important to the defeated maiden. It could have easily been rigged to take the maiden's life instead, as it doesn't matter to the working of the Pillars where the life force comes from. However the agony, and even the drive, of the twelve maidens would increase if it wasn't their life on the line, but of the one most important to them. Think of it, you, and once for me as well, all thought our own lives were the ones at stake and so we fought, bravely sacrificing ourselves for our loved ones in battle against the Orphans, to keep them safe. But with our loved ones on the line we couldn't sacrifice ourselves; we couldn't do the right thing in losing to a friend. For we would not die, we would remain with our pain. And it's that pain the Obsidian Lord himself, as well as the star, thrived on."

"The Star of Misfortune," Midori said.

"Exactly, but the star was destroyed by you all and the Pillars were eradicated by Miyu."

"What does this have to do with Nao's mother being alive? Her Child is destroyed!" Natsuki said.

"It has everything to do with it. The star is back because it is a thing of higher order matter, but the Pillars remain in pieces, powerless to fulfil their ancient duty. There is no system to siphon the life energy away anymore."

"You mean the rules have changed," Midori said, catching on to what Mashiro was alluding to.

"The connection between HiME and Child is direct now, the shock of the Child's demise is no longer used as a catalyst by the Pillars to drain the loved one' life force. Now that shock is felt directly by the HiME, but because the Pillars don't work anymore their life force isn't drained, so it's just a blow to their bodies."

"A powerful blow," Yoko commented. Her examination of Nao had told her the girl's physical condition was stable, but still she did not wake up.

"But not fatal," Fumi said, and they all hoped she was right. Nao was alive, but in a comatose state with no telling when she would wake. Like mother, like daughter, sadly history seemed bent on repeating itself. How would they explain this to her mother? Would the woman now be faced with sitting at her daughter's bed, year in, year out, with no hope of her waking up, just like Nao had sat at her mother's bed, angry with the world and the injustices against her?

"How's Shizuru?" Natsuki asked when Yoko put away her tools, seemingly done with the examination.

"She's stable for now," Yoko answered, but her words didn't sound to certain, "And her pupils responded to the light."

"But?" Natsuki pressed, sensing there was more to her condition than that.

"Most of her wounds are superficial, some scrapes and bruises. Her leg doesn't feel or look quite right, so it might be broken."

"And?" Natsuki continued to press.

"And," Yoko continued, "she suffered a great trauma to her head. It might just be a simple concussion, but it's possible she suffered some kind of brain damage."

"No," Natsuki breathed, feeling her legs give out. Before she could fall she was held in muscular white arms, looking at a bracelet of many gold coloured balls.

"This is only a preliminary diagnosis, I can't say more here," Yoko said, "But she's more responsive than Nao and will probably recover during the night. Start worrying if we get out of this and she's not awake, not before."

"Those bastard," Natsuki swore.

"We'll stop them," Midori said, her voice broking no resistance. Yoko also came over to Natsuki, who had risked so much in getting her friend to them only to hear that she might awaken as a potted plant. The nurse hadn't meant to give that impression, but she had underestimated just how worried, and desperate, the otherwise solid girl actually was.

"You did well in getting her here," Yoko said reassuringly, "She'll be safe here."

Natsuki nodded, slightly detached from it all. But Shizuru was strong; she had to trust in her friend to fight through this, to come back whole.

"Thanks to you," Natsuki said, looking at Midori, "If you hadn't reacted so fast when you saw Duran."

She needn't say more, without the teacher she would've been captured, or worse, shot. But Midori unexpectedly shook her head.

"It wasn't Duran, we already knew you were coming," Fumi said.

A greenish pod hovered closer to them and a small mirror, vaguely transparent, showed itself in front of it.

"Someone is coming," Yukino's voice came through, transmitted perfectly to the extension of her child through her element, the Miroir. She looked small in the reflective display, as if she was looked at from above. Likely she was, other pollen were sure to hover above her. Natsuki saw Haruka standing protectively next to the new Student Council President. Also she saw the body of a soldier, prone on the floor with a steady breathing, probably asleep, behind them.

Shiho shivered visibly, fearing that the dark armoured warrior had come again for her.

"Who is it?" Shiho asked quickly.

"It's Miyu," Yukino said, "she entered the building before I realized it and is now going quickly to your position."

Midori let out a relieved sigh, "She's not an enemy," she said confidently. Fumi nodded her concurrence, though the attackers were of the Searrs Foundation she knew that they were not with Alyssa, and therefore not with the powerful android either. The others, though they wanted to believe the older women, were not quite so certain. The android had moved against them before after all.

Another thought crossed Natsuki then, when she thought about Yukino's words concerning their position, "Yukino, where are you?"

"I'm on the roof," she said easily.

"Isn't that too dangerous?" Natsuki asked, but Yukino was already shaking her head, and Haruka was scowling at her indignantly.

"No one will come near Yukino when I'm around," Haruka responded confidently.

"I made us invisible before sending out Diana's feelers," she explained, "And nothing will hurt me while Diana and Haruka are around," that last part was more to appease the zealous protector than to reassure them. Diana alone, though not the most powerful Child, would be enough with normal soldiers, as the already fallen clearly showed. But there was still the matter of Shiho's black devil.

"Don't worry," Yukino said again as if reading her mind. The new president had no problem in reading her doubtful expression.

The infirmary's sliding door opened with a bang and would have surely rebounded to close fully again had an unwavering hand not held it tight. Red eyes looked at all the startled inhabitants of the room, for though they had expected her they hadn't expected the rash entrance or the furtive, and hopeful, look within those artificial orbs. Hope that disappeared when she did not see the person she was looking for.

"Miss Alyssa," she said with a steely, accusatory voice, directed straight at the school's director. She had recalled her charge's schedule to meet with the stately woman in her own mansion, now she was there, but her Alyssa was not. The mansion had been the first place to look, but only a small contingent of soldiers had been there, soldiers who refused to say anything even as she ploughed through them all. They lived, but she knew that if she did not find Alyssa soon she would forego on even her small sense of mercy. Killing the men of Searrs would cause her and Alyssa trouble later, but her patience was wearing thin fast.

"Where is she?"

"She allowed the Foundation to apprehend her, buying me some time to get out. She knew, as I know, that one of us, who know the truth of their organisation, had to get out. She purposefully let herself get captured to get close to the heart of this invasion."

"Alyssa," Miyu whispered, that was so like her charge, getting straight to the heart of the matter with utmost confidence. But that still did not tell her where she was.

A bright golden light illuminated the dark sky in a flash, streaming through the infirmary's windows. It showed clearly a squad of soldiers approaching under the cover of darkness, a darkness now dispelled.

"Miss Alyssa," Miyu exclaimed, more animatedly than they had ever seen the stolid android girl. She rounded on her feet, poised to dart out of the room, out of the school, and towards her most precious girl.

On impulse Natsuki called out to her, reaching into her jacket's top pocket. She felt stupid until her hand came around the thing she was looking for, "Take this," she threw a keychain, her bike's key attached, to the retreating girl. Last she had seen it was when she had involuntarily crashed again, but she was glad Midori had taken her valuable machine, or at the very least the ignition keys, with her when they retreated. They wouldn't help the young biker now, but her set of wheels were still faster than the android's fast run. Miyu only waited long enough to catch the small object and then she was gone, leaving them to deal with the encroaching soldiers by themselves.

As Natsuki looked at Shizuru's pale visage and unmoving frame she did not feel it to be an inescapable problem, in fact, she welcomed their foolhardiness in coming at a room full of HiME.

* * *

Sparks flew when the two behemoths clashed against each other once again, seemingly both on the verge of tipping over, but coming apart again without any visible loss in stability. So their dance continued, with no end in sight. 

Below them the water was in turmoil, waves clashing hard against the bridge's supports. The supports were strong and the water would not break them, but the same could not be said for the giants, who could rip through the structure, which was dwarfed by their sizes, with ease.

Artemis and Apollo, in ancient mythology they were siblings, twins, born from the supreme Olympian God Zeus. Here they appeared just as much as twins as the legends prescribed, both golden, both the same shapes, with only the difference in the other dominant colour to separate them. Bright pink versus twilight orange.

Alyssa took note of the similarity between her Child and Arika's, between herself and Arika, and realized where this girl had gotten her strength.

"Not bad, for a copy," she said and for a moment Arika did not hold on to her composure. Not that the younger girl needed the confirmation, but this showed them both who held the upper hand in their confrontation. The moment of surprise was over and now the golden angel held the reigns once more.

"Right now we are evenly matched and it won't be long until on of the HiME breaks through to here and then you will be tight pressed," Alyssa said, "There's no way you can win. Surrender now, relinquish your connection with the Foundation and we'll be lenient concerning this night."

For a brief moment Alyssa thought she had gotten through to the girl, but the doubt evaporated from Arika's face instead, replaced fully with confidence, no, arrogance. If she hadn't been as composed as she was Alyssa would've sighed at the futility of it all. Her words were no bluff, she knew for a fact that soldiers alone were going to be enough to defeat the twelve, no, thirteen maidens now. Not even the military might the Foundation could muster. Nothing short of a nuclear strike could.

"That just shows how much you know," Arika countered, trembling with barely contained laughter, "A copy? Ha! I have surpassed you and your reinforcements won't make it past Laura. It's you who have lost and when I clip your wings you will understand that you never had a chance to begin with!"

Appearing as if she was shocked by her own outburst Arika visibly calmed herself. Next to them the spinning tops came together again loudly. She had made an interesting point to consider, where had her attendant disappeared to? There had to be more to her for the second artificial Valkyrie to believe so adamantly in her prowess, Alyssa surmised. Was she another artificial one? Given the way the majority of the Foundation felt about them she thought it unlikely, the fact they had even made a second was nothing short of remarkable. No, not remarkable, she thought. John Smith would create as many as he believed he needed, with or without the consent of the ruling council.

"But, you are right that someone could interrupt our fateful encounter," the Junior High girl surmised, looking at the younger girl with a gleam in her eyes that could only be called evil. Suddenly she bent down, slamming a hand against the concrete beneath her. Alyssa could barely believe it when a circle of energy, gold in nature, showing the mark of Searrs, appeared under her palm. It shouldn't have surprised her, she had done similar on several occasions, though only once to the extend Arika was using it now. A copy indeed.

Several dark shapes, completely flat, sprang from the summoning circle, falling down the heavy column to blow away in the wind. Slowly they started to grow larger, become three dimensional. Some landed in the water, their size keeping the bulk of them above the water's turbulent surface, while others crashed heavily on the mountainous land around the bridge. They were different from the furred Orphans Alyssa had been able to summon, resembling towering machines more than living creatures, with large scythe-like claws.

"Keep any uninvited guests out of the way," Arika commanded them, rising without difficulty to her full length again. She looked at Alyssa, brimming with confidence, a playful smirk playing on her lips. She was saying she was more than a copy, able to use the power to a far greater extend than the young angel of Fuuka ever could. She supported a Child and at the same time was able to create a small squad of Orphans to do her bidding. When Alyssa had created her own following of Orphans she had exhausted a great deal of her strength, but Arika showed no sign of fatigue. If she were to use the Orphans against Artemis the disaster would be complete.

But Arika was driven by pride now and she wouldn't hear of using her creations that way. She had been sincere in using them only as a deterrent for anyone coming to Alyssa's aid. She was going to defeat the Child with her own, showing to the world that she was, without a doubt, the stronger and the rightful heir to unlock the gates to Valhalla.

* * *

Pushing the borrowed bike to its very limits, going over the conservative speed limits without care, Miyu was quickly coming closer to the two sources of light. One of those was Alyssa, she knew that instinctively, but the other she did not know and that worried her. 

Like Natsuki before her she had encountered enemy blockades, but she didn't stop for them in the slightest. Her blue suit changed quickly to red, her machine gun rendering the soldiers useless as she sped towards, and finally over, them all. The only purpose they served was to deplete her resources, the limited amount of bullets she carried, but her scarlet dress wasn't her primary weapon and therefore not her concern. Against a Child, something she knew she would face when her path led her over a high coastal road, momentarily giving her a clear sight of the fight at the bridge, the bullets would prove only a pathetic distraction. It was only for a moment before trees hid the bridge from sight again, but she had unmistakably found her charge, a shining beacon of light on a tall column. But she wasn't alone in that.

"I'm coming," Miyu said, "Just hold on."

If she continued to follow the road she knew she'd go a roundabout way to the bridge, the long and scenic way around the coastal mountain. The bike's usefulness had come to an end, sprinting through the trees on her right was the most direct as well as the fastest way to her goal. It was rough terrain, the reason why the road wound the long way around, but for her that was no problem.

She wasn't the only one who thought so, three green globes, heads for the machine-like Orphans, reared up from the forest to block her path. At full speed she drove alongside them and then jumped off the bike.

"Unlocking high-speed mode," she said, her internal diagnostics confirming the command. Her arm changed to the anti-materializing blade, the best weapon against both Orphans and HiME.

The lead Orphan lashed out, splitting trees and rocks where the scythe went several meters into the ground. But it had missed Miyu and now the android was running along the wicked blade while the Orphan pulled free. Miyu was the faster, reaching the thing's shoulder before it could fully bring his arm free and attempt to shake her off. A quick downward slash and the arm fell away, crushing more of the flora where it landed before slowly dissolving in green sparks.

All the sensors in its head focused on her, but there was nothing it could do to stop her from cutting off its head. The two pieces followed the arm's course down with Miyu riding down to the ground on its shoulders.

The two remaining Orphans came on at once, slashing furiously in her direction. More than a few hits struck the disintegrating body of their companion, but they didn't care. Following orders was all that occupied their thoughts, keeping them from running even if they had wanted to.

"Mere Orphans can't stop me," Miyu stated, ducking below at horizontal slash and darting forward. The second lumbering giant was in her way. Again she jumped, farther, faster and higher than any human possibly could. This time she didn't bother getting up high, instead cutting away the legs from under it, running far past it before the Orphan's bulk hit the ground. The decapitated legs followed the first Orphan, but the rest was far from destroyed. It didn't matter to Miyu; nothing mattered except for getting to the bridge.

The third Orphan, the only one still in tact, followed the android girl's trail, but though his strides were longer he could only keep himself from lagging behind, unable to come close enough to catch her. Behind them the second Orphan futilely tried to rise and follow, but with its legs destroyed it was unable to.

Finally the trees broke and she was at the coastline, the bridge still too far to make it like that, even the skilled android could not walk on water, let alone not such turbulent water.

Miyu skidded to a halt on the small line of ground between the trees and the water, getting splashed by the occasional wave. Her pause allowed the third Orphan to catch up, but there was nothing she could've done to prevent it. In front of her and to both her sides were more of the towering robots, previously hidden by the very forest she had been using as cover. This time she could not evade them, but to fight them there would take too long.

So close, she could make out the small girl inside one of the golden glows, but not the other taller one. Once, twice, the two spinning tops, larger even than the giant Orphans, collided and parted, neither seeming to have the upper hand. But that only moderately set Miyu at ease.

* * *

"Someone has come," Arika remarked, "who could it be?" 

Alyssa knew who it was, fighting against an overwhelming number of Orphans alone. The lithe form danced and weaved gracefully through the hordes, using their bulk and strength to her advantage wherever she could. She was fast, like a stinging gnat compared to their bodies, but that was her advantage.

"Miyu will win," Alyssa said, trusting fully in her friend. But the Orphans weren't unthinking beasts and while three kept the android busy the rest was regrouping in a tight wall, boxing the girl in.

"Doesn't look that way to me," Arika countered.

* * *

Miyu saw the trap for what it was, but it was already too late to do anything about it. She cut off the head off on of the giants, but scythes from the two others kept her confined to where she was. Around them the other Orphans had finished their wall, and were now closing in, scythes slashing in front of them. They kept out of each other's way, never relenting in their cutting motions. The two Orphans with her would be destroyed along with her, but, to their dogged mindset this was no sacrifice, two of them for the android, a better trade-off than they could ever hope to get. 

"Emergency," she said, accessing her options. Mythril dresses, navy blue, scarlet, khai green, ocher, none of them would get her out. Instead she went to the secret option, calling forth the power settings for her sword, to make it go to full power. She knew the cost, but if she could take down the Orphans and get to Alyssa, it would be worth it.

"Mythril dress, mode platinum," she called out, but instead of her robe turning to starling silver a warning flashed in front of her eyes, "Access Denied," she questioned unbelievably. The Sword of Marie, named for the praying woman on its hilt, went as high as eighty percent of full capacity, but no further. This had been Alyssa's doing, in an attempt to keep her best friend around forever she had locked those commands that could lead to her own destruction, as a fully powered platinum mode would surely do. It wasn't the final resort for nothing, but now she didn't even have that.

The scythes closed in and there was nothing she could do.

"Miyu!" Alyssa cried out, a desperate cry that even reached Miyu's ears. If the last thing she was going to hear in life was her voice than she was, at least on some level, content.  
But another voice followed on that cry's dying echoes, "Kagutsuchi!"

The white dragon with its burning wings rose up from the sea of trees, his glory completely as he surveyed the many Orphans, his kin in a way, before him. With a mighty roar he released a fireball that effortlessly destroyed half their number. People had been right to fear him, and with him his mistress, as even among Orphans and Childs he was a monster, pure and simple. Though he was no longer unbound, the cursed red-hilted sword having returned with the Star, he was without a doubt still the most powerful Child around.

"Miyu, get on," Mai called out from the dragon's back as they flew low above them. Setting off against the pair of Orphans with her she leapt clear on top of the dragon's back, hooking her free arm around her rescuer's back. Together they flew over the water, rising up behind Alyssa's column. At once Miyu released her hold on Mai, leaping down to stand protectively in front of her girl, keeping her own body between her and their nemesis.

"Arika," Mai said suddenly, realizing even through the golden shine that it was Mikoto's friend. She knew her, thought that she knew her, but the facts did not lie. Another girl she would never have suspected was trying to kill them, "That's you isn't it? What are you doing?"

Arika sighed, "Fulfilling my destiny."

"Fulfilling a lie," Alyssa corrected, but Arika merely shrugged. Her Orphans, those that had survived Kagutsuchi's onslaught, were approaching but they wouldn't make it fast enough to stop anything. The second Valkyrie from Searrs did not look impressed at the force arrayed against her.

Before anything more could be said or done Miyu leapt across the empty expanse of air between the two pillars, sword flashing out before her. The cause for everything was right there, this was the time to end it.

She was met with a black shape halfway through, a jet that reformed itself into something resembling a human. The black blades of a halberd and a broadsword clashed against the silver blade. Both kept suspended in the air, their momentums keeping them in place, for several seconds. Two half-circular domes of energy separated the pair; the Sword of Marie's anti-materializing properties struggling with the higher-order energy coming from the black weapons. The pressure continued to build, finally erupting between them. Miyu flew backwards to the column she had come from, Laura did likewise. Both came to a stop next to their respective charges. Two glowing girls and two metallic protectors, one from the inside and the other from the outside, were like a mirror image.

"Laura, right?" Alyssa said and Arika nodded. Parting in the middle the black machine's head opened up so they could see the girl that occupied it.

"Arika, are you all right?" Laura asked, fierce violet eyes trained hard on the threats in front of her.

"I'm fine, but how were things on your end?"

"Too easy," Laura stated.

Mai could hardly believe she was going through this same situation again, she had liked Arika a lot, just like she had admired Alyssa before she had shown her true colours. She didn't know Laura all that well, aside from the fact that she was Arika's roommate and a class above her. Next year she was to graduate. Why? That question had burned in her, but now she suddenly felt cold inside, oddly detached from the reasons why or how. She could not look away from that sword Laura was holding, Mikoto's old sword, Miroku.

"Where did you get that sword?" Mai asked coldly, "Where's Mikoto!"

"I pried the sword from her cold, stiff, fingers," Laura answered, "after I defeated her."

Mai's shoulders slumped, feeling as if the world had just dropped out from under her. Several expressions, disbelief, despair, crossed her face. Before it finally settled on anger, like an unrelenting blaze, Arika had already reacted, calling up her connection to the Star. The golden glow surrounded her and Laura, building to an eye searing crescendo. Then the two girls and the Child, Apollo, were simply gone.

Mai yelled impotently at their disappearance and at her own helplessness. Both she and Kagutsuchi looked at the only remaining enemies at the same time, the hulking Orphans, and their thoughts were as one. No command had to be issued for the dragon to completely destroy them in a huge torrent of flames. Miyu narrowed her eyes dangerously; if they had gone berserk she would have to stop them.

"Stop," Alyssa called out, equally to Miyu as to Mai.

"I have to find her," Mai said, but she had no idea where she could find Mikoto or where to start looking.

Alyssa called this out to her, hoping to sway the desperate girl with reason.

"No, you have to stop Arika and Laura, that is paramount," Alyssa said, but her dismissal of Mikoto's plight did not sit well with the older girl, "She's also the only one who can tell us where she fought Mikoto," Alyssa added, that at least calmed Mai somewhat.

"You're right," Mai said sadly. She desperately wanted to find Mikoto, to dismiss Laura's words as lies, but there was more at stake than that.

"You're the only one who can take us to where they ran off to."

"Where did they go?" Mai asked.

"The only place they could go," Alyssa said cryptically, casting her gaze towards the red star in the sky.

* * *

Purely by chance she had stumbled upon the small group of soldiers, moving stealthily through the forest. Not enough of course to escape her notice, Akira mused. Like the others they fell quickly to her attacks from the shadows. Two of the soldiers carried a black body bag with them, which they unceremoniously dropped to the ground when the ninja started her attack. 

Slowly, keeping all the fallen soldiers in her sight, in case they weren't as unconscious as they appeared to be, she knelled down beside it.

"Probably nothing important," she said to herself, otherwise they would have handled it more carefully. The zipper, running along the entire length of the bag, opened easily, but loudly to the ninja's trained ears. She only got halfway before she got a good look at the bag's contents, and her breath caught in her throat. If any of the soldiers had been faking their defeat she would have been powerless to resist.

"Mikoto," Akira whispered.


	4. Golden Dawn

**Disclaimer:** Mai HiME is the property of Sunrise, Bandai.

* * *

The sun shone brightly in the sky, offering no respite from its burning heat to the girl stumbling in the sand. The desert's uneven floor, hills of sand and plateaus of rock, offered no shade either. Cresting such a hill of sand, one of many, she had already lost count of them long ago; Yumemiya Arika raised the protective glasses she wore to her forehead, taking in the scene around her. Almost she had thought the seemingly endless expanses were truly without end, but now, for the first time, she saw life other than the strange puffballs or shambling rock monsters. A barge crossed the sands in front of her, almost like a boat through water. She had never seen enough water that you'd need a boat to cross it, but her old auntie had told her about the thing called the ocean. A place of water even larger than the desert that she one day hoped to see. 

Then the barge went past her, leaving her behind and she knew her trial had not come to an end. They didn't see her, she realized with mounting panic.

"Ah, wait for me!" She cried, running after it. There went her hope for an easy way out of the sea of sand. But the sight of the metallic ship had bolstered her spirits, even if she had missed hitching a ride, for now she knew she was on the right track. Soon she would be at Garderobe and find her mother.

Little did she know what she would find at the prestigious school of the Otome; friends and rivals, a most infuriating man that called her Arinko, Anty. Just like Mikoto always did, she recalled as if through a fog, but her thoughts quickly turned back to the man and his adopted daughter, both of whom would come to mean a lot to her. Looking for her mother she would find both happiness and tragedy. There would be a war, but in the end she would pull through and help save the world. At her will, though it saddened her greatly, a long azure blade formed in her hands while her hair turned gold. She rushed forward towards her friend, to defeat her and to save her, no matter the cost.

_Tragic heroine_, a voice whispered insistently in her mind, _a future that can be yours if you want it_.

She knew the voice to be right, with the Star she could give birth to any world she desired. Resting back in her dark throne she let the myriad of images continue, revelling in the power at her fingertips. The world was hers; all she had to do now was decide which world that was going to be.

Standing near the throne, her protector Laura didn't feel at all at ease, unlike Arika. Her violet eyes cast furtive glances to the dark walls of the throne-room, hardly believing at first that such a thing could exist inside the red star. But the star obeyed Arika's will, so perhaps this room was only an extension of that will. Still, she couldn't ignore the faint throbbing in the floor or how the walls sometimes seemed alive. Again she looked at Arika and wondered just how much the girl was truly in control.

* * *

**Mai HiME: The Golden Millennium**

"**_Golden Dawn, the Girl that Dreams the World"_**

* * *

Mai, from her vantage point on top of Kagutsuchi's back, looked down upon her two friends. Their course made sense, but she couldn't shake the thought of Mikoto, caught in unrelenting hands or lying inside a muddy ditch in a forest somewhere. What if she needed her, now more than ever, and she didn't come. That had happened once before, not something she cared to repeat, and it had hurt Mikoto deeply. How could she just leave her again now, when she knew all of that? Mikoto would never willingly part with Miroku and the sword had allowed no one else to touch it but her, so what Laura had said had to be true and Mikoto needed her now more than ever.

"Tokiha Mai," Miyu said, though they were among friends now she hadn't put down her sword, "There is no more time to waste."

Mai gritted her teeth; it was the Festival all over again, pitting the sake of someone important to her against the sake of the entire world. She had made her choice then, the right choice. Surely Mikoto would want her to do right thing?

"Get on," Mai commanded, trying to sound sure of herself and her choice. She succeeded, in part, but mostly she just sounded sad. After all the sacrifices they were supposed to be free of this, free to live a normal life with normal problems. Secret organisations with delusions of grandeur were not part of that life she so desired. Things had gone so well since the Festival had ended, she had love, she had friends she'd risk her life for, and they for her, and her brother was healthy, at long last. The commotions of Akira's revealed secret had calmed down and everything. Why did they have to do this now?

* * *

"Reports," Commander West demanded, standing stoically in front of the miniature display of the campaign, his hands resting on the clear black sides that were always cool to the touch. He remembered clearly still how in the old days the planning, and follow-ups of an operation, were done with maps and pins on a table. The table now was a large black box in the centre of their mobile command. The top, the display, was a holographic projector, showing everything that happened in three dimensions.

Outwardly he was calm and collected, as befitted his station, though the same could not be said for how he really felt. Another one of his men, Collins, he thought his name was, came to him with a printout. He looked worried and West remembered that this was the young man's first assignment in the field. A horrible beginning, but there were many soldiers, in many wars, who hadn't even lasted as long as he had in their first assignment. They were the operation's headquarters and should be the safest place.

"Just calm down," he said fatherly, "and stay focussed."

"Y-yes sir," Collins said thankfully.

"Now, show me what you've got."

"Sir," Collins said, his calm regained, he read the report as the hologram was updated, "We've lost contact with nearly all our squads on campus. Squads five, ten, thirteen, have reported in and are in position around the main building. Several of the Valkyries have taken refuge there."

West nodded, noting that indeed most of the icons signifying those lost groups had turned red at their last known position. Signifying that the new recruit could continue Collins did just that.

"Our barricades are holding on the main roads connecting Fuuka to the outside," Collin continued, "But we've lost one near the school and several leading towards the bridge."

Again West nodded, not surprised at all to learn that someone had been heading towards the bridge, that's where that Arika girl was and that was where they had left Alyssa Searrs. Someone, or more than someone, he did not know. Normally the answer was obvious as a single person couldn't break through even one barrier, let alone several. But these were not normal people.

"Any word from our esteemed princess," West asked, and this time he couldn't hide his snide tone when addressing their leader. What the brass had possessed to leave things up to a schoolgirl he did not know, one of the many things he did not know of the operation. The lesson should've been learned when things failed the last time.

"Nothing sir, nor have we heard anything from the SERVANT pilot." Collins shook his head, he did not know the pilot's name, West thought, but that hardly mattered. "In fact we've lost the suit's signal completely."

For a while the commander said nothing, mulling over all the points of the catastrophe. Things had been doomed to failure the moment Arika had prematurely remade the Star. Now she was gone, Laura was gone, but whether they had been simply defeated, killed, or in retreat, he had no way of knowing. All he could do was assume the worst, for even if they had retreated it would still mean that something had forced them into it. He had his orders, straight from the top, and he knew he had no choice.

"Become the sheath, is it?" West's voice was resigned.

"Sir?" Collins, the young pup, asked.

"It's an expression," the Commander replied, "In sword fights, when there is no way to win, but you need to defeat your opponent at all cost, you let your body become the enemy sword's sheath. By dropping all your defences you invite the enemy to plant their sword in you, it's an opening few can resist. And when he strikes you, kills you, his own defences will be down and you can kill him."

Collins kept quiet; though he was still inexperienced he knew what his commander was trying to say.

"We can't win, but neither can we afford to lose," West said, "So we become the sheath."

"Sir," Collins whispered. Though his commander no longer believed in the success, or even the value, of their mission he would still go that far to complete the orders given to him from above. A true soldier, to the end.

"Contact all troops, tell them to converge on the school and subjugate the Valkyries."

* * *

The ship, almost appearing like a derelict vessel for all the activity, or rather lack thereof, on its deck, was anchored not far off the bay leading into Fuuka. There were no crewmen on decks, nor were there any lights, but still the ship was far from abandoned. Black clad soldiers patrolled the corridors and the walkways outside, blending in naturally with the darkness.

For a while the darkness of the night had been broken as two beacons of light had ignited on top of the bridge not far away. The battle had been far from short or intense, a battle of attrition between golden giants. He knew whose giants they were and who he wanted to win, but standing on a far shore he had been powerless to do anything. That wasn't his part in the night's flurry of activities either, so he waited patiently for them to stop. They had to stop, or at the very least dim their lights or he could not do anything.

Then Mai appeared, riding atop Kagutsuchi she drove away on of the golden beacons and soon after the second glow disappeared along with the second giant. Darkness returned, the white dragon's flaming wings weren't strong enough to light the entire bay. Now was the time to go, he knew, recalling the sworn liar's words that his chance would come.

There was no other way; he had committed himself to this. Resolutely he stepped on top of the black snake's head, letting it take him to the vessel. In the darkness of the night no one saw them approaching and both snake and passenger reached the vessel's aft bow without trouble. A fiery flash came from the bridge as the white dragon rapidly shot up to the stratosphere.

Reito went up to, the snake's long body breaking free of the water to get him on deck. With a soft thud on the metal plating the former Obsidian Lord had boarded the ship that held the ruling council of the Searrs Foundation captive.

* * *

Her hand trembled slightly as she went for the girl's neck. It was inevitable that some would get hurt; with all the soldiers and their guns about, but that it had to be her was hard to swallow. Akira had to find out for sure if the girl in the body bag was really dead, though she couldn't see Mikoto breathing. Silently Akira reprimanded herself, falling back into the discipline of her ninja training. Softly, gently, she touched Mikoto's neck, searching for a pulse.

Like lightning a hand grabbed the ninja girl's arm, keeping it in place. Her grip was like a vice. Golden eyes, completely bewildered and devoid of any recognition, locked onto hers. Reflexively Akira rose up to her full length, trying to back away and get herself free. Her element formed in her free hand, but she stayed her attack, this wasn't an enemy she was facing. Mikoto didn't seem to agree and rose up from the black bag with her, coming on like a wildcat.

"Mikoto, stop," Akira shouted, trying to get through to her even if it alerted others, if there were any, to their location. Her caught wrist started to hurt as Mikoto did not relinquish her hold, but still she did not strike with her weapon. To her shout all she got was an angry snarl from the girl she had just rescued.

Then Mikoto's free hand found its way to her throat, immediately starting to squeeze. Time was running out for Akira, but still she did not know what to do.

"Mikoto," Akira gurgled, an image of Takumi appearing in her mind. She wanted to see him again, more than anything, she wanted to see him again. No choice. Her element, flashing in the soft moonlight that flittered through the trees, abruptly moved forward and up.

* * *

"Hold on tight," Mai said, holding fast to the hilt of the large sword thrust through her Child's mouth. She was sorry to see it again, not because it limited his powers, though that certainly was a consideration, but because it couldn't be comfortable for the white dragon at all. But the sealing sword was powered by the star and its return meant the sword had come back into existence as well. At least it was something to hold on to, she thought.

A solid grip held her waist tightly; strong enough to keep in place even through their rapid ascend. Miyu, a golden glow around her body, made sure not to hurt the human girl in the process of hanging on tight, keeping both herself and Alyssa on the dragon's back. Her young charge kept both arms wrapped around Miyu's leg, but if not for the android girl's other hand on her body she would have already fallen off.

* * *

Arika, all the way from her throne inside the crimson star, hissed angrily. Too far away for any human eye to see the ascent of the four figures they were in plain sight of the extraterrestrial invader and therefore also known to her. She knew them, knew the two girls glowing gold and the other glowing like she was enveloped by crimson flames. They were coming and wouldn't be swayed into following destiny.

"They're coming," she said in answer to her companion's questioning look. No matter what, she had to stop them, but how? She had been forced to flee before. No, not flee, she amended, just a tactical retreat. But now they were coming again and nothing had changed. Laura could fight, and would fight, but she had no weapon against them. Apollo had already failed her, the enslaved Orphans had failed her and now she had nothing left.

Not so, that soothing voice whispered inside her mind and she knew what it meant. The other world, one of many, had shown her that she did have a weapon. Now her anger, and yes, fear, turned to confidence, or was that madness?

"Come, we're going out for them."

"Arika?" Laura whispered, sure that something was quickly changing in the younger girl and she wasn't sure that was for the best. Under her feet she felt the star pulsate, as if trying to tell her that she shouldn't interfere.

* * *

"They're coming," Yukino said urgently, her many spies showing her the large troop movement, all of them aiming for the infirmary. The moment they had all been dreading had arrived.

"This is it," Mashiro said solemnly, "our final battle."

"Again," Natsuki remarked.

Shiho shifted in her seat, the small stool at Nao's bed, wanting nothing more than to run, fast and far. It was possible; Yatagarasu could take her away from this place, away from the soldiers and the black machine. But she didn't, people were counting on her now. She remembered her big brother, who did not possess the power she or the other HiME did, but who had rushed into the academy during the last invasion anyway. He had wanted to do something and so he had gone. How could she do otherwise now?

Midori looked at all the others, seeing the resolve in their faces and she was glad she was with them during these times, glad that she had accepted Fumi's offer to let her continue her work as a teacher in her school. At first that had been nothing but a temporary arrangement so she could finish her thesis and, for them, to keep her close to the academy like the other HiME. But somewhere along the line things had changed and she had started to enjoy her work. Looking at these girls, students, colleagues, and friends, she knew that no matter what she had made the right choice. Professor Sasaki, she thought, you would have enjoyed the action, wouldn't you?

"HiME Rangers," Midori said, a forced grin on her face, in an attempt to lighten the tense mood, "Move out!"

In a swift motion she opened one of the large windows and leapt out, followed closely by Mashiro and Fumi. Her feet had barely touched the ground before she called out, "Gakutenou."

Shiho swallowed hard, holding on to her resolve. She was the next to leave, but took more care in climbing out. As her eyes started to adjust to the darkness she realized she made a good target, showing clearly in the light behind her. A shrill note escaped from her flute and a shadow fell over her. Seconds later she flew on the dark crow's back, close to the academy roof. Though she couldn't see them she knew Haruka and Yukino were there somewhere, overseeing the battle and, if needed, giving them directions.

"You're doing fine, Shiho-chan," the student council president said, startling her until she saw the pod hovering near her head, "There's a group coming from the right, you can take them on from the air."

Back inside the infirmary only three of the HiME remained. Carefully Natsuki brushed a lock of hair away from Shizuru's face, looking at her face as if it was going to be for the last time. Maybe it was, certainly things were dire enough.

"You've always been looking out for me," Natsuki said honestly, it didn't matter to her that Yoko could hear every word she said. This moment was clearly for them and the nurse wisely kept out of it, even though outside the battle had begun.

"Whether I wanted to or not, even when I couldn't appreciate it," Natsuki continued, stroking the side of Shizuru's face, as she regarded Nao for a moment, "You saved me from myself, now I'm going to save you."

Giving her a quick kiss on her forehead Natsuki rose determinately. Two guns appeared in her hands with a flash and she locked her eyes on Yoko, "Look after them. I'm counting on you."

Then she too was gone, almost flying out the window with a cry for her Child on her lips. Yoko wished she could do more for them, help them in some tangible way, but all she could do was take care of her two patients while they fought to stay alive and to draw the soldiers away from the medical wing.

* * *

Even though it was her second time in space it was the first in which she could honestly look down and see the Earth in all its splendour. Somewhere below, in the country that looked like a dragon or a giant seahorse from above, a small war was being fought. But from outside the atmosphere there was nothing that hinted of turmoil, not in Fuuka, not Japan nor anywhere else in the world. From above the world was at peace.

Reluctantly Mai tore her gaze away from the blue orb and she saw her two passengers do likewise when she turned her head slightly to consider them. They had seen images of their planet often enough, but to see it for real with their own eyes was something else entirely.

Kagutsuchi, with no such thoughts to distract him, set a straight course for the crimson star. Already they were further from the Earth's atmosphere than the last time. Mai could still hardly believe how fast that had gone by, one second she thought she had died, the next she and Kagutsuchi were dodging missiles while on a collision course with Alyssa's Child.

Similar thoughts entertained Miyu, who remembered how that incident had taken the young girl away from her. She didn't blame Mai, though if she had she was now in the perfect position to take revenge. Away from the Earth Mai got a good look at the power of the Searrs Foundation. Many satellites were in orbit around the planet, weather satellites, broadcasting satellites, and others flew in a geostationary orbit. But further away, far more than she could've imagined, were the same kind of satellites she had destroyed Artemis in the last time, a whole battery of the Searrs Foundation's space stations.

"She's coming," Alyssa said suddenly, something akin to a flash of insight or a premonition flitted through her head. Somehow she could feel her copy's presence clearly, could feel her own power coming from a place further away on their course to the Star. She knew for a fact, though she could not explain why, that their foe wasn't waiting for them anymore but had decided to take the fight to them.

At first none of them could see her, but it wasn't long until she was hovering directly in their path. A girl with hair, glowing a pure gold, like Alyssa, but surrounded by a red glow like Mai, stood on top of a black jet-like machine.

"Leave Arika to us," Alyssa said to Mai when they were nearly on top of them, "You go ahead and destroy the Star."

"Understood, but be careful," Mai replied.

"You too," Miyu said, letting go of her waist and heaving Alyssa on her shoulders. Their straight course suddenly broke apart, Miyu had launched herself and Alyssa straight ahead to intercept Arika, but Kagutsuchi veered around to the left instead, passing them by in an arc. Everything would end if they could destroy the Star again. Would it really? Mai thought sceptically for a second, they had believed the same before, and yet here they were again, fighting the same battles.

Arika watched the split with little concern; such a tactic was far from unexpected.

"Stop her," she said, setting off against the black surface, propelling herself into battle unarmed.

Laura wanted to stop her, but anything she could say would fall on deaf man's ears. Her roommate was driven by something she had no control over and so she fired her thrusters, in pursuit of Mai and Kagutsuchi.

Looking behind her Mai knew they couldn't outpace the black jet, if they kept going they would just be ripped apart. Sensing his mistress' thoughts the dragon angled his body so he could see their pursuer. Narrowing his eyes, filled with her emotions, he felt the same kind of pain Mai did over what they had seen this one carry. And hurting Mai was unforgivable.

The ball of flames left the dragon's mouth in an instant, crossing the void towards it target almost as fast. Going into a barrel roll Laura evaded the shot, transforming into her humanoid form when she came close to the now stationary attackers. Tightening her grip on both her weapons she went for the rider first. Taking her out would be easier than combating the dragon up close, even though his greater bulk would make an easier target, and it would deal with him at the same time. This one wasn't like Julia, greater powers had tried to destroy Kagutsuchi, such as Alyssa's golden lightning, but in the end everyone had failed miserably. Mai was, by her estimation, the easier target.

Her halberd soared out first, straight for the girl's heart, but Mai only brought one hand in its way, blocking her weapon with a half-sphere of fire. Maybe this wasn't going to be as easy as she thought.

Now she struck with Miroku, held in her right hand, hoping that Mikoto's formidable weapon would be of a match against the flames. Double wielding like this meant she couldn't put as much strength in her blows, the downside of using two-handed weapons in this manner. But she wore the Foundation's trump card and its enhanced capacities more than made up for the limitations of human muscles.

Another of Mai's elements flared and now she had both hands raised to enhance her fiery protection, but that was all she could do.

Still Laura was surprised by the intensity of Mai's will, shining through clearly through her own violet eyes. They looked down, entranced by the broadsword and for a moment she thought Mai was going to falter. Instead her resolve only got stronger and to Laura's disbelief she was suddenly pushed back. It wasn't Kagutsuchi pushing them away; it was all Mai's own doing. The dragon hovered back, waiting for an opening where he could strike. If Mai ducked away now she would have nowhere to go.

"Shit," Laura swore inwardly, using the force of the fiery girl's push to launch herself back and away. Briefly she considered to turn back into a jet, attacking them using blitz tactics, but only for an instant as Mai was once again atop her. She kicked and now it was Laura's turn to block the wildly flaming element around the girl's ankle with her two blades. Sparks flew as the three weapons came together and then Mai was the one to push off and fly away.

Laura made as to follow her up, though up was a relative term in space. Going by the position of the Earth relative to them it was actually down. Arrows of fire came from the spinning elements on Mai's wrists, not falling for the same oversight that Laura had almost succumbed to. Slashing wildly Laura destroyed all the projectiles before they could hit her, even the ones that were bound to miss anyway. The shots were a distraction and never intended to actually stop the black armour.

Then Laura's eyes widened as she realized this, firing off her thrusters and turning into a jet, for extra speed, just in time to narrowly miss another fireball from the dragon. Perhaps going after Mai, as the easiest target, wasn't such a great idea after all. And getting her mad by using her roommates own weapon? Laura sighed, realizing that she let pride get in the way of her better judgement, but that there wasn't anything she could do differently now.

* * *

Something was amiss; the guards knew that for a fact even though there wasn't a full confirmation yet. On deck several of their patrols had vanished without a trace, breaking all radio contact. Already, among the less seasoned troops, of which there was a surprisingly large number compared to the veterans who should've been stationed there to guard their passengers, were whispering about an invasion force. The few experienced soldiers could do little to silence them, their numbers were by far too few.

A team of four went out to check up on their missing members, spreading out when they came to the huge cargo containers stacked in the middle of the ship. They moved in tandem through the three lines of containers. One for each of the impromptu paths in, and around, the metal boxes. Four appeared at the end of the first crates, and then they progressed to the end of the next one. For several seconds they were out of each others' sight.

Like a spectre Reito jumped out of the shadows, his katana flashing in the limited light. His first strike disarmed the man, the gun crashing against the metal box with a resounding bang; his second slammed the end of the sword through his eyewear. The man went down, but his assailant didn't wait for it, already he was running to the end of the box where his companions would soon show up to investigate the noise. Purely on instinct he slashed his sword diagonally down the side corridor the collection of cargo containers made on deck, taking out another gun before its owner knew what was going on. He didn't finish it though, taking cover by leaping back from where he came. A third soldier opened fire at the shadowy figure that had leapt out, but he only hit his colleague. Two down and only two more to go and then he could go below deck. As he thought about how to take down the final obstacles a smile formed on his lips without him realizing it. In the dim light his eyes had taken on a golden sheen.

* * *

"Are we winning?" Haruka asked, looking frantically at the many images Miroir was showing them.

"I don't know," Yukino said honestly before she could stop herself, knowing that through her element the other HiME would also hear it. It didn't seem to matter though.

Close to the forest edge Midori and Gakutenou were ploughing through trees and vehicles alike, taking down the foot soldiers' support. Going straight for another black trailer Yukino saw something move on its roof. Knife in hand the soldier jumped at the approaching chariot in an attempt to board it.

"Above you," Yukino called out, focussing on the pod she knew was close to Midori. Up came the woman's halberd, twirling above her head. She hit the soldier several times, before they had past his now falling body, unconscious by the many blows, and went through the black van without problems. A flurry of explosions followed them from behind as the remains of their collision course exploded.

Another of her mirrors saw Shiho on the back of her black crow, stalling in its flight. Abruptly it went in a nosedive, streaking over a battalion of troops. The young girl on its back blew a clear note on her flute, a sound of pure agony washed over the field beneath them as eardrums ruptured and goggles shattered. The crow veered up at the end of its flight, letting a barrage of exploding darts penetrate deeply in another assault vehicle. Its outer shell punctured it went up in a ball of flame.

Quick as a fox, somewhere in the middle of the battle field, the Director seemed as if she was dancing, flitting from place to place without rhyme or reason and yet perfectly orderly as well. Her scythe gleamed in the moonlight, white and red, though if it was of blood or the crimson emanations of the star that occupied the same space as the moon Yukino couldn't tell from her vantage point. She wanted to think it was the latter and didn't pry further.

Fumi didn't dance alone; Mashiro was right there with her, twirling her own double-bladed weapon with a poise and finesse that was simply out of this world. She moved even faster than the Director did, sending out streamers of blue fire to wind around her and her foes.

A mighty leap brought Duran into a clod of troops, breaking their formation.

"Fire," Natsuki called out, sliding off the silver wolf's back. Two shells left his twin guns, exploding into shards of ice to completely cover half of the squad's number. At Duran's back Natsuki shot two soldiers through their helmets, the shots weren't lethal but they packed enough of a punch to knock the men out for at least a while. She kicked another in his stomach, doubling him over for a clear shot into the back of his head.

For a brief moment there was a lull in the battle around the three women, giving them the opportunity to see just how things were going. Overall they were wreaking great destruction over the invading army, but with every squad they took down another two seemed to take their place just as quickly. Even now other vehicles moved along the tree lines where Midori had just been. Though so far they seemed to have the upper hand the enemy strategy was becoming clear, this had become a battle of attrition, and it was only a matter of who ran out first, the number of soldiers the Foundation had brought to bear or their stamina.

"We can't win like this," Mashiro said, not sounding winded in the slightest. But she was a Child and could go on for far longer than this. If it was just her she might just have won, but it wasn't and they had to think of their own survival.

"We can't surrender to them," Natsuki said vehemently, misunderstanding what the former Director was trying to say. If they gave up now they were as good as dead, there was no way Searrs could let a loose cannon like the HiME around if they were to take control of the world through the red star.

"No, but there is another way," Mashiro continued, "If we can destroy the Star they have no more reason to be here."

"How?" Natsuki asked, intrigued by the proposal. She had considered it herself, but dismissed it because unlike before it was near the moon and out of the reach of their Childs. All except one, she amended, but neither Mai nor Kagutsuchi had shown themselves. Perhaps she was already going for the Star or perhaps she had fallen like Nao and Shizuru had fallen. Mai, she thought, please be all right.

"I can send you there," Mashiro said, "but we have to go now."

"Where?"

"To the Crystal Arena," Mashiro answered.

"Go," Yukino said, "there are only more troops coming. This is the only way."  
"But, who will be left here?" Natsuki worriedly asked.

"I will take your place," Yukino said determinately, "Also; help may be on the way."

Before Natsuki could say anything more her arm had been grabbed by Mashiro, who unrelentingly pulled her along with Fumi in tow.

"Are you sure about this?" Haruka asked, but she needn't have asked. Already Yukino had dismissed her mirrors and the field cloaking their position. She would go down; though her Child lacked the strength of the three who had left the field she was sure she could still do something. The time for collecting data was over, her friends were better off reacting on the fly than wait for her directions. Already the fighting had started moving too fast for anything else.

Flying off the building's roof on her Child's back Yukino hoped that the people she had seen from afar were coming quickly. A dark shape, one she had not seen, broke through the enemy lines on a straight course for the Crystal Arena, but nobody saw it pass, moving fast on all fours in pursuit of Mashiro and her companions.

* * *

The Crystal Arena, the glass dome that was the main entrance for the entire school, gave off a serene air that was only disturbed by the shots and explosions ringing outside. Mashiro looked at the monument and the railing the students used for tying their ribbons, a promise to the person they cared about to always be together. She remembered still how in this place an old and huge, though no less vibrant, tree had stood. That tree had long since burned down, a legacy of hundred years burned in a single night. She herself had tied a ribbon on that tree, a tradition that still existed now, as a pledge to her own precious person, her older brother. Before the battle.

It was sometimes hard to believe that three hundred years had already past, that everyone she used to know had long since past out of peoples memories. Perhaps it was better that way.

"What next?" Natsuki asked, looking back impatiently. It was a risk they were taking, one that could come to cost the ones she was leaving behind dearly.

Despite the situation Mashiro showed a slight smile at the camaraderie between this generations's HiME. The maidens of her time did not have such a tight bond and the tragic Festival had been able to occur without much trouble. She had done right in placing her trust in these people, now she was going to do it again.

"Stand still," Mashiro instructed, "Though you'd best recall Duran before I proceed. Sending him along might just tax the energies needed to bring you back again."

Natsuki nodded and gestured for Duran to comply. With a slight whine, born out of reluctance to leave his HiME alone during all the violence, he disappeared.

"I still have some powers left from when I was the Crystal Princess," Mashiro explained, "From this place I can make a connection to the Star. Once you are there you should destroy it, like before, and run back to the portal before the place has disintegrated around you."  
"I understand," Natsuki said, motioning for her to continue.

Mashiro nodded and closed her eyes. A blue flame appeared around her body, seemingly to engulf it completely. Without warning it turned to green flames, flames that jumped over to Natsuki. Natsuki recoiled, but all around her things turned to green. The last thing she saw was another shape entering the inferno with her.

Fumi and Mashiro looked solemnly at the now empty spot, the only two remaining in the glass dome that still glowed with its own green light. It would remain that way until the two travellers, Natsuki and an unexpected stowaway, would return or the star was fully gone.

"I'm going to miss you," Fumi said sadly, even before green sparks had started to come from the other woman's body.

Smiling wistfully Mashiro turned to her one time maid, her true companion in the last years as she had worked to bring her plan to culmination. In all the world there was no one she loved more than Fumi and, sadly, she knew that feeling to be mutual.

"You knew," she said, making it a statement and not a question.

"You don't have any of those old powers left," Fumi said, "You used up everything your Child body had."

"I'm sorry, there was no other way."

"Don't apologize," Fumi said, "I understand, I always understand you."

"Yes," Mashiro said, embracing her caretaker one last time as her body started to fall apart. Already she could feel her soul reaching out for her true body, but she held herself back a little longer. Once she had gone there was no way back.

Slowly the women sank to the floor, still in a tight embrace, but Mashiro had almost completely vanished by this point. When Fumi's back touched the glass wall of the dome all she held were green sparks.

"We'll meet again," Fumi heard Mashiro say, though there was no one there, "In a place beyond this world."

"Mashiro-sama," she whispered when the shock that had befallen Nao overtook her as well. Though she was expecting it she understood clearly, in the little time she had left, how it had left the young girl in a coma.

* * *

Almost like a comet, leaving behind a tail of glowing red energy, Arika shot straight at Miyu and Alyssa, still seated atop the android girl's shoulder. Their golden glow wouldn't help them, she knew, nor would the powerful anti-materializing blade that was Miyu's left arm. They also raced towards the confrontation, another clash of powers.

In the middle the three girls met, the sword of Marie coming in contact with something that was almost an exact duplicate of the true Obsidian Lord's body, only made of azure crystal. Holding its narrow hilt Arika wielded the double-bladed weapon like a club, driving back her opponent by the shear weight and power of it. Sparks flew and were stopped by the auras around the girls. Still Alyssa raised an arm to shield her face.

Miyu reversed the direction of her push, launching herself and Alyssa away from the crystal blade, but Arika followed. As they flew they clashed and came apart several more times, each lasting just a bit longer than the first. Then suddenly, unexpectedly, Arika backed off.

Lightning started to arc around the crystal blade, gaining in intensity rapidly as it build up to discharge. A name chorused in its wielder's mind, the bolt from the blue, derived just like the weapon itself from one of those alternate worlds she had dreamed about.

When the blast finally came its violence was too great for Miyu to avoid. Her own sword came up just in time, flaring with its own power that was the direct opposite of the higher order energy they were now bombarded with. But her blade could not parry it all, and arcs of power struck the golden aura around them. That stopped the remaining energy from hurting them, but when the blast finally stopped Alyssa was breathing heavily and her aura was blinking with every drawn breath. The anti-materializing blade seemed scorched as well, but its edge was still sharp.

"Do you understand now?" Arika called out to them, "I'm beyond you. All of you, I-"

Suddenly Arika swivelled her head to the side, staring at the Star with wide eyes, "Cowards!" She roared, her voice completely contorted by rage. Her clear blue eyes regarded her two enemies, girls she had nearly completely beaten save for the final blow, but she had no more time to administer it.

"Distracting us while your allies attack from behind," Arika hissed, "Well, that won't work."

"Allies?" Miyu and Alyssa asked one another.

In a flash of light she was gone, drawing Laura out of her own battle, abruptly and against her will, and back to her throne room. The young girl was seething with anger, no one but her was allowed in her most hallowed chamber. Somehow Laura caught this thought and it made her wonder about her own place at her side.

* * *

Carefully the two girls walked through the dark corridor, completely alone and, aside from a constant throbbing sound, felt more than heard, in complete silence. No explosions, no screams, so different from where they had been moments before. But Natsuki was far from feeling at ease, sure that the reprieve in the fighting she had been granted was of a temporary nature. To destroy the star, that was why they were there, but where were they to begin? Duran could start shooting through walls, but that could very well take forever. Their best bet, Natsuki reasoned, was to destroy the core of the Star, if it had one.

With Duran walking in front of them she looked at her unexpected companion, walking without any kind of weapon at her side.

"Why did you come with me, Mikoto?" she asked, and for that matter, where had she come from? Not once during the entire night had she seen Mai's, and sometimes her, roommate. Had she defeated the black demon Shiho had said she gone to fight?

"It's here," Mikoto answered cryptically.

Duran growled, dispelling any more questions Natsuki had wanted to ask the girl as the three of them entered a wide foreboding chamber. At the other end, sitting back in a large throne, Arika glared at them maliciously. So Nagi was right, Natsuki thought, Arika was indeed the key to this whole mess.

At her side stood the black devil wielding both a black halberd as well as the broadsword Miroku, its face mask parted again to show the human girl underneath,. That explained the absence of Mikoto's element at least, Natsuki surmised, seeing the outcome of their previous battle clearly. Somehow that impossibly strong girl had lost.

"Kuga Natsuki, Minagi Mikoto," Arika drawled, "I know why you're here."

"Good," Natsuki replied brazenly, aiming both of her guns at the seated girl, "That saves us some trouble."

Arika smiled, "Then let's begin."

Both girls lunged forward without any warning and with incredible speed. Midway Laura's helmet closed itself, its eyes shining a bright yellow for the moment when the seal was completed. That wasn't what drew Natsuki's attention the most though, she could understand Laura's speed as something the suit was capable of, and as just another confirmation that Shiho had not been exaggerating in the slightest. But Arika, who had looked so oddly out of place on her seat in just her Junior High uniform, was matching the suit pace for pace, even starting to outdistance it. Her hair had turned gold and her body was surrounded by red flames.

Natsuki shook off her surprise when, left without any other choice, Duran leapt to the left and out of the way of the double-bladed crystal weapon she had thrust in front of her. The biker girl twisted sideways, a full pirouette, feeling the displacement of air as the weapon went straight past her back. One of her guns came up and she mercilessly shot Arika in the face. She had almost been gutted, she remembered Nao in a coma and Shizuru with possible brain damage, all because this girl had brought suffering back to Fuuka for her own gain. But the bullet from El Er, her gun, was ice in nature and was destroyed by the fiery aura before it could cause any harm. The glow that could even keep the coldness of space out had no trouble with a simple icy bullet.

Mikoto cared nothing for the lopsided odds when Laura rushed her with her own weapon in hand. The presence of Arika, whom she considered a friend, did not matter either. The battle in the forest came back to her in flashes; she remembered falling through branches, using Laura's body to brace most of the impact. She remembered weapons clashing continuously and she remembered having her hand on another friend's neck.

"Miroku!" She called out forcefully, involuntarily stopping the double-wielding girl's rush. A crimson glow, burning to the touch, enveloped the dark blade, shaking violently in metallic fingers. There was the sound of a bang and then her sword was again in her own two hands. Crying out Mikoto rushed forward.

Natsuki's expression right then was easy to read, as was Arika's, who started to swing her crystal blade around again. Natsuki started to run, jump, roll, almost all at once, but knowing in a flash as every possible move crossed her mind, that it wasn't going to do her any good. But she wasn't alone; Duran's flight had been only momentarily, now he landed solidly on the azure surface, forcing the weapon down with his weight.

"Duran, load Chrome Cartridge," Natsuki called out, getting herself out of the weapon's immediate range, "Fire!"

At close range there was no way for Arika to dodge, the shells slamming right into her body to send her flying back. Underneath the silver wolf's paws her Element dropped to the ground. Even shielded and filled with power as she was the blow was felt, dazing her for several brief and valuable seconds. The shells exploded, coating her in ice.

Natsuki sighed in relief, they had done it, the one responsible for everything was defeated. But Duran growled and then the ice simply blew apart.

* * *

Tap, tap, tap, the most unnerving sound the young guard had ever heard. Their cover had been a sleeping vessel, only using emergency lights in some of the corridors. How he wished now he had full lights, but at the same time he wished otherwise. Approaching him was the sound of boots, a steady and confident stride with no pretence of trying to remain hidden. The young man knew that the one who had silenced his colleagues and turn the remainder of the ship into turmoil was coming for him through the red glint of the emergency lights on the ceiling.

Reito saw the guard first; saw the gun shaking in his hands. He stepped out underneath one of the lamps hanging overhead, showing himself fully.

"S-stop right there," the soldier demanded, but the swordsman was not impressed.

"We can do this the easy way," Reito said instead, his voice telling the soldier clearly for whom the easy way applied, "Or you can suffer the same fate as your colleagues."

The soldier couldn't look away from his golden eyes, but slowly he started to raise his gun. Reito should've leapt forward then, but instead he just smirked, "That's the choice I've been hoping you'd make."

The sheer confidence in his voice was too much for the guard, who hadn't signed up for anything like this. All through the ranks there had been talk of their presence in Fuuka, rumours mostly as only the upper echelons knew the full truth. Need to know basis, the common soldiers weren't among those who needed to know. But things had been seen, girls with strange powers and monsters, serving them and fighting alongside them. One rumour stood out clear now, that of the Dark Prince, the young man with golden eyes who was in charge of all. That young man stood in front of him now.

When the man dropped his gun Reito seemed almost disappointed.

"Run," he offered simply and the man didn't have to be told twice. Now alone in the hallway, his goal behind the very portcullis in front of him, he was transfixed by the level of fear he had encountered. And, worst of all, at the way he had enjoyed his trip down the ship's gut. His eyes, gold again though he was not aware of it, showed his inner turmoil. Kanzaki Reito did not enjoy the suffering of others, deserved or not, but Minagi Reito did. Who was he then?

Those were thoughts for later, time was running out for him and for the people he had come for. Nagi had told him of this ship, of what awaited the people held there as well as the soldiers who stood as guards. The trickster had given him a choice, if it could be called that. But, he thought firmly, he was Kanzaki Reito and he couldn't let hurt befall others if he could help it. That was who he was.

The heavy iron-set door opened easily for him and he set on foot in the chamber beyond. The men there, old men in expensive suits, regarded him, his golden eyes, and his sword with clear apprehension.

"Dark Prince," someone muttered while another said, "Obsidian Lord."

"I've come to free you," Reito said, words they had not expected to hear as the duration of their captivity had lengthened, certainly not from him. He remembered, when the Obsidian Lord had send the envoy of Searrs led by John Smith away from his presence that he had stated the Foundation had no place in his new world. Part of him had agreed with that assessment, but they had never been given the chance to carry through with it. Until now, with his sword in hand he could rid the world of these men, but, that wasn't why he was there. Though he loathed thinking about it the world as it was now was better off with Searrs behind the scenes. Nature abhorred a vacuum, the destruction of Searrs, an organisation he and others were aware of, would only make others rise up in their place.

"Follow me," he commanded, turning his back to the men that disgusted him as well as the thoughts they caused him to contemplate.

* * *

"Allies?" Mai asked her passengers on Kagutsuchi's back. The group, unexpectedly left alone and for some not a moment too soon, was once again going straight for the star. Mai had considered simply blasting the cursed thing out of existence and then returning home before Kagutsuchi would disappear. But if there were other people inside, she couldn't do it.

"That's what she said," Alyssa said.

"A bluff?"

"No," Miyu answered, and that was simply that. Other HiME were inside, there were no other people who it could be.

The dragon's mighty wings brought them to their target in almost no time at all, but now they had no way to proceed. Blasting it was out of the question.

"Does anyone see a way inside?" Mai asked, but of course there wasn't any.

"Those two are powerful," Miyu said, "More so than any Orphan any of you have ever faced. They are not prepared for that."

Mai understood what the android was trying to tell her; no matter the number of HiME down there they had no experience with Laura and Arika. Though it was risky there was no other choice, they had to get below the crimson surface and they had to get there fast.

"Kagutsuchi," Mai said, pointing towards the crimson surface, "Make an opening."

* * *

The chamber rumbled, then part of the ceiling simply caved in, rocks and other dark material crashed into the floor below, accompanied by a brief stream of fire, drawing the girls out of their fighting. A hole, about a meter or two in diameter, led up straight to the surface of the planetoid and would have caused the chamber to decompress if not for the small atmosphere the Star possessed.

Miyu and Alyssa dropped through first, ending in a crouch on the rubble below where the younger girl could simply drop off. Immediately the golden glow around the android girl disappeared, and with it many of its protective properties. It didn't matter to Miyu, she had always fought without anyway and she did not feel comfortable with the idea that it was draining for her charge. Thinking ahead, though they weren't at that point and maybe never would, filled her with dread that Alyssa would be too drained to sustain the aura around herself, the only lifeline she had in space.

Behind them Mai lowered herself more gently, the Tenrin around her ankles spinning strongly to control her descend. As she hovered she looked around to see Natsuki hard pressed against Arika, whose crystal blade and flaming aura gave her a distinct advantage in close quarters to the blue-haired gunslinger. Not even Duran was making much of a difference, succeeding only in sending the younger girl's attacks astray when they came to close to his mistress. Even so there were nicks and scrapes in her bodysuit and traces of blood; her long hair was matted to her forehead by sweat. It was clear, even in the stale hot air of the underground chamber, that she had been moving a lot to get that sweaty.

In another side of the chamber another struggle, one on one, was nowhere near a standstill for either side, Laura's black halberd parrying every strike Mikoto made with Miroku and vice versa.

"Mikoto," Mai exclaimed happily. She wanted to go out and help her roommate, but an uncompromising hand held her fast at her ankle, only narrowly avoiding getting hit by her twirling element.

"She's fine," Miyu said, "We need to get to Arika. That will end everything."

Leaving Alyssa behind, and not looking to see if Mai heeded her words, Miyu raced forward. Her sword slashed down in a high angle, but was stopped by the lower blade of crystal. A shape flew over, ending in a kick to Arika's head from the other side, but the girl twisted her Element to intercept the kick. Heaving her weapon around she forced both assailants back a bit, giving her time to breath.

"Natsuki," Mai said, still relieved to find her friends unharmed, though Natsuki had looked better. Even though the situation was still dire she felt hopeful now that her darkest fears had been elided, "Stand back, we'll take care of this."

"Will you?" Arika yelled, slashing her weapon hard against Mai's hastily raised firewall. The blow knocked her back, but when Miyu struck again Arika was forced to defend against it, unable to land another blow on Mai while she recovered.

"Thanks," Natsuki said, motioning for Duran to follow her. She'd take Mai up on her offer; there was little she could do against Arika other than get in the way. But there was still somewhere she could make a difference.

* * *

Arika leapt backwards, making several hops to get away from the two attacking girls. Space, she needed space, and time, to think. So suddenly the situation had reversed and now she was the one being tight pressed. The unfairness of it all, how everyone kept hounding her, drove her almost mad with rage. Who were they to stand against her so, she was the one who had the fate of the world in the palm of her hand!

"Support me," Miyu said, running straight at Arika, her sword arm held back to strike.

"Understood," Mai said, pushing off against the almost organic ground. Her Tenrin, all four of them, flared and arrows of fire left from her hands, forcing the glowing girl back even further. Blue Crystal spun around, destroying each of the arrows as it came near, but there was no stopping Miyu's charge. The anti-materializing blade struck out fast and both weapons collided again, sparks flying as wildly as the remaining arrows. Both blades held in place there was nothing Arika could do to stop one of the projectiles from slipping past her defences, narrowly grazing her arm.

Pain flared up, though fortunately it was only a shallow wound. Her aura, so effective against ice, did nothing against Mai's flames. Another blow came to her double-bladed weapon as Mai send her weight against it. Together with Miyu they started to wear Arika's hold down. Already she found it hard to press as powerfully with her injured arm. The blade's incredible bulk, once so effective in driving the sword of Marie back and overwhelming Natsuki's, in comparison, pathetically small guns, was now working against her.

Inwardly she yelled her outrage, but her voice was but a whisper against the torrential voice that had whispered its sweet promises to her. It was a whisper no longer.

Arika screamed, forcing the two girls back in shock, it was as if a solid wall was pressing against them. The azure crystal blew apart in many fragments, forcing Miyu and Mai to shield themselves the best they could. One shard embedded itself deeply into the android's right leg before Mai could hover between her and the crystal shards, keeping them at bay with her fiery shield.

When they could see again, the crystal rain having come to an end as abrupt as the explosion of sound that had caused it, Arika stood panting, her golden hair now flowing freely behind her back. She held the hilt of her destroyed blade in both hands, keeping it low and pointed to them. A large blade of azure crystal, more of a lance than a sword, came from the tip of that hilt.

"I am Eternal," she called to them, but the inflections in her voice had changed, "Mai HiME."

* * *

Laura measured her strikes carefully; the intensity of her opponent's strikes was greater now than they had been in the forest. As Mikoto struck out she brought the halberd close to her body, stopping the blade with the lower end of the pole. Sending the weapon into a spin Laura forcefully dislodged Miroku, creating an opening in which to strike, but Mikoto ducked underneath it, striking instead at Laura's legs. Thrusters fired and with a mighty leap back she cleared that as well. A clear disadvantage, when she nearly bumped her head on the ceiling, became painfully clear. In these tight quarters she couldn't utilize her jet form effectively.

Bending her knees slightly at landing Laura sprinted forward, the blade of her halberd low to the ground. Opposite of her Mikoto also attacked, her sword sending sparks flying as she dragged it along. The two girls met in the middle, but now the momentum of her charge allowed Laura to push Mikoto back.

A rain of bullets crashed into her armoured form, blinding her temporarily where they hit her eyes. Her charge halted and so did the girl she was forcing back. The blade of her halberd dug deeply into the dark ground without the other blade to keep it up. Too late did she raise her weapon to block Miroku and the dark sword severed the spear clean in half.

Laura jumped back, but her advanced sensors detected a command spoken against her. It was only one word, but that was enough, "Fire."

Shells exploded in front of her, changing the direction of her jump back down. Her thrusters flared, speeding up her fall which ended in an almost backbreaking crash, but at least Duran's ice flew harmlessly overhead. Getting hit by that would have been worse.

With a back flip she got back to her feet, in time to see Mikoto charging again. The girl's tactics were extremely simplistic, but by no means ineffective. Without her halberd to defend herself the blade could, and certainly would, cut through her armour. Against the girl with the strange golden eyes, burning almost of their own volition, her black suit suddenly seemed pathetic indeed.

But she had trained for this and instead of wavering she lashed out with her right arm, sending out the serrated black whip. In one sweep it coiled around the black sword, holding it fast, though Mikoto refused to let go. Pivoting on her position Laura flung Miroku, and Mikoto with it, away from her. At her wrist the whip released, but on the blade it remained. Mikoto landed on her feet, taking quick steps backward from the momentum, but the extra weight made it hard for her.

This was the only chance she was going to get. Flexing metallic fingers, and the talons at their end, she sprang forward. Before she could reach her target though, a silver blur slammed into her side, sending her flying into a wall.

Shaking her head Laura pushed herself away from the wall, and into a hailstorm of small bullets that disorientated her further. A feral cry sounded and she knew that Mikoto had cut her blade free of the debilitating metal snake and was coming for her again, but the flashes to her optical sensors kept her blind. She willed the thrusters at her sides to fire, but then Duran was suddenly there, his strong paw ripping the left one straight off her body. Spinning wildly Laura could do nothing as several of Natsuki's shots made the other one explode too. The girl with violet eyes, now wide and desperate, felt more than she heard or saw Mikoto's foot stomp in front of her head. Miroku came up diagonally, slamming into the back of her suit, reverberating even in her spine. Cracks formed and soon the suit's back would break.

With a mighty heave Laura came to her feet and out from under the blade, but moving the armour became hard as several of its nerves had been severed. Through the Neural Link she could feel it as if it was her own body. Stumbling around she could do nothing as attack after attack, whose she couldn't even tell anymore, wrecked the suit around her. Her helmet broke, cracks formed the entire surface. Her sight blurred, looking at cold eyes faced against her, she couldn't blame them their animosity. A scream, she almost thought it was her own, was the last thing she heard before she fell. Arika? She wondered.

* * *

Arika swung her huge blade horizontally, about a meter above the ground. It moved faster than could be expected from a weapon of that size, wielded by a young girl. Both Mai and Miyu jumped over it and forward. There was an opening now that they could take advantage of before the girl completed her swing and brought her weapon back.

"Ah," Mai cried in surprise, unexpectedly the sweep created a gust of wind that knocked both girls far back. While the violet-eyed girl was able to stabilize her flight, but Miyu, her leg damaged, had a rougher landing.

"You think you can beat me? Nonsense!" Instantly Arika sprang forward, her sword held out in front of her like a lance.

"Miyu, look out!" Mai warned.

"Duran!" Natsuki shouted at the same time. At her call the wolf slammed headfirst against the crystal blade, disrupting its trajectory, but not its flight. If anything Arika only increased her speed, kicking the wolf in its face when she past him. Then she just stopped to plant her feet securely on the ground. Holding back her blade she swung it around in a full circle, missing everyone with the first line of attack. The wind though could not be avoided, and all girls, even the downed Laura, were flung away from her.

"There's just no end to this, to her," Mai muttered as she picked herself off the floor. The friends were divided into smaller groups around the perimeter of the room, centred on Arika and the huge blade. But was it really Arika, Mai couldn't help but ask herself, the girl's voice seemed subtlety different and also familiar. Finding out what that was though would have to wait as she looked out for the others. On one side of the room Miyu ripped the shard of blue crystal out of her thigh without flinching with Duran standing nearby. Briefly Miyu inspected the wound until she was satisfied there was no risk of the ammunition stored there to explode. It was an odd sight to see the android standing side by side with the Child, given the previous enmity between the Searrs android and the HiME. But that was in the past now.

In another corner of the room Natsuki was bending over Laura's prone body, checking the girl for serious injury. The casual way in which Arika had swatted her roommate, cohort and supposed friend around was enough to even create some sympathy for her in the angry gunslinger. Between them and Arika Mikoto stood firmly with Miroku.

Furtively Mai cast about for the remaining member of their party, but she couldn't see Alyssa anywhere. Getting worried she finally noticed a golden glow coming faintly from behind the throne.

The impasse couldn't last long. It didn't surprise Mai at all that Mikoto had started running first, sparks trailing after her.

Natsuki silently swore and went after her, firing her two guns at Arika, the bullets streaking past Mikoto, sometimes narrowly. Again the shots didn't do much, causing only a brief distraction, but even that brief moment was a lot when you were rushed at from all sides. Her swing began too late and was stopped halfway by Miroku, with both wielders straining to outdo the other. Duran and Miyu had been thrown back again by the wind, but Mai, coming up from behind, wasn't stopped.

Mai yelled, kicking for Arika's head. The glowing girl knew she couldn't bring her weapon around fast enough, so instead she dropped it and jumped away. Touching down briefly Mai went right after her. She did not want to hurt her, the driving anger that had spurred her on before had been mostly alleviated when she saw that Mikoto was unharmed. But if she didn't do something now that Arika was unarmed they could all come to regret it. The girl, as if possessed, no longer seemed capable of mercy.

Tenrin granted her more speed than the unarmed girl, but that didn't seem to bother her at all. In fact Arika was smirking. Barely in time Mai drew up short, bringing her arms protectively in front of her. An elongated crystal blade was pressing down on the swirling rings around her wrists, somehow the unwieldy thing had returned to its owner's waiting hands.

"Too hasty, Mai HiME," Arika laughed, again reversing the situation. _Destroy them, destroy the infidels, destroy, destroy, destroy._ The voice chanted over and over in her head, keeping her from getting a thought of her own in.

"You," Mai exclaimed in shock.

_Destroy, destroy, destroy._

Natsuki ran up behind Mai, locking both of her guns on Arika's face, nearly shocked into inaction by the furious and insane expression she saw there. Her hesitation only lasted for a second, then she fired at the only vulnerable spot, her face. Bullets broke apart with small flashes on the crimson aura, temporarily blinding Arika. It was all Natsuki could do, but even though it was a small thing she was intent on seeing things through and not from the sidelines.

_Destroy._

Mikoto came up from Mai's left side and now Arika's blade moved to intercept the catlike girl's, giving Mai a moment of respite. Though she could barely see, Arika was driven by something larger than herself, an ageless presence that refused to be downed.

"Duran, load Silver cartridge," Natsuki commanded.

"No," Arika hissed.

"Fire!"

_Destr-_

Arika hopped back, bringing her blade in the path of the shells, destroying them utterly. Her wrists flung about again, blocking Mikoto's renewed approach. Flashes went off in her eyes, but the approach of Miyu was unmistakable. She could sense it even if she couldn't see it. Arrows of fire flew around her, leaving nicks and cuts over her body, but nothing serious. Of course, Mai wouldn't try to kill her, but that didn't mean her attacks weren't hurting her, slowing her down. If they weakened her severely…the thought never finished, none of her thoughts were allowed to finish.

_Des_-

Miyu slashed, her strike only barely stopped by the blue crystal. But still the sword had come to close to her own hilt and Mikoto, blasted girl, never stopped pressing in either.

"Duran," Natsuki called again and, through the flashes that kept her blind and solely reliant on her instincts, the sole of a shoe came her way, surrounded by a spinning flame.

_De- No! I'll be killed._

At last her own voice rang through her mind, no longer drowned out by the constant cacophony of the voice that offered her the world, any world she desired, but was unable to come through with that promise. It was then that Arika screamed, letting out all the fear, all the anger and many more emotions in one burst. Her blade shone white and shattered, forcing the HiME back a bit. No shards flew out this time, nothing did. This was no longer about fighting, she knew she couldn't win. A second flash, smaller than the first, and Arika had fled the chamber and into space. All of a sudden the HiME had won, the Star was theirs.

* * *

The glow inside the Crystal Arena finally died out, leaving three worn out girls in its wake. At once sounds of battle filled their ears, confirming that things were exactly as they had left them. But were they really?

"Director," Natsuki whispered, but the unconscious woman did not, could not, respond. Mikoto went over curiously, recognizing the signs of Fumi's open but empty eyes as surely as Mikoto did. Nao had been the same. Mashiro was gone, but who had done it?

Leaving Laura behind on the floor, bits of armour continuing to crack and fall off, Natsuki raced outside to see who was still alive. Surprisingly she recognized all of her friends among those still fighting, though each looked extremely tired, almost ready to drop down. Shiho was still making swooping attacks, accompanied now by Midori's flying chariot.

Near the infirmary's windows, which to Natsuki's relief were still intact, Diana's tentacles smacked anyone threatening to come near. Further away, along the trees, a giant toad and tiger were destroying some more vehicles. The ground between the trees and the building was filled with bodies, whether they were alive or not wasn't something she could see. Still, less than half of the soldiers were still fighting on, despite, or perhaps because of, all the losses.

"Duran," Natsuki called, whirling on the spot as icicles burst forth. How many times had she summoned and recalled her Child this day? She could barely remember.

"Come, Mikoto," she said.

"Yes," Mikoto answered enthusiastically. Soon the fighting would end, soon the star would be destroyed and their powers with it, but before that they could still help their friends for the few moments they had left.

* * *

When she was sure the three girls were gone, safely back to Fuuka presumably, Mai flew back up the hole they had come in by, Miyu and Alyssa coming through behind her. Above the dark hole, back in space, her Child came down to her with an affectionate chirp.

"I'm fine, Kagutsuchi," Mai said, patting the dragon affectionately on his snout. She had to wonder how things would've been differently if he had been with them inside, but despite the absence of his most welcome help they had prevailed in the end.

With everyone again on his back Kagutsuchi put some distance between them and the star before turning back to it fully.

"Do it," Mai said after a moment, "Kagutsuchi!"

Roaring and rearing back, his lungs filling with flames, the dragon prepared to do just that. Still sealed by the large sword the blast that left his wide mouth cut through star, rocking it with several explosions before the remains of his blast left the other side. Twice more did he have to fire before the star finally blew away, disappearing into nowhere.

Mai looked solemnly into the empty space, wondering suddenly where Arika had gone. With the Star gone their powers would soon fade away as well.

"We can't go looking for her," Alyssa said, reaching the right conclusion from watching the other girl's face.

"But."

"If we stay we won't be able to go back home," Alyssa pressed and Mai knew she was right. But still, Arika was somewhere out there, alone, and if the state of mind she had before she left was any indication very much afraid.

* * *

On a flat expanse of rock, high on top of the small mountain range that bordered Fuuka, John Smith watched the destruction of the star solemnly, though not unexpectedly. The battles at the academy, mere pinpricks at that distance, weren't going well for the Foundation either. His plans were being ruined as he stood there watching, if his plans had involved winning that is. Of course that would have been the best possible outcome, but he wouldn't have reached his current position if all he planned for were the best possible results to an operation. Like the Foundation itself he was a patient man, if something did not work out now it might just work out better in the future, no matter how far that was. Control of the Star and the destruction of the HiME would have granted him, and only him, a great amount of power, after a certain number of people had been 'persuaded' that he was the only one who could wield it. A risky power, the alien Star and the Obsidian Lord were both creatures that could never been fully understood or controlled by humans. He knew where humans ranked with those beings, therefore they would never led any human truly control them. Still, it would have been nice.

No use crying over spilled milk though, there were still the contingency plans for just this situation. Coming back to Fuuka for the Star was only one reason, the other had more to do with his own sense of pride. Smith was a man who always finished what he started, leaving no loose ends behind no matter what. Fuuka itself was a loose end, one he would tie up, no matter what else was going to happen.

Bringing his hand up he regarded the small black box and its two buttons with a slight smile. He pressed the first button, the one he was going to press regardless of the results of the operation. Far off in the bay an old cargo ship exploded, a sight regarded closely by a bunch of people in rowboats, unbeknownst to Smith. With the executives out of the way the internal dynamics of the Foundation would shift and in a direction of his choosing.

Then he pressed the second button and a signal was relayed, though many channels, to one of the satellites orbiting the planet. Several hatches opened on a launch platform. Eight warheads left the space station, on a direct course for the academy. Too fast and too far away for the space farers to do anything about it they appeared as eight bright spots in the sky, getting larger by the second.

That was that, John Smith thought, turning on his heels without witnessing how the end of his play would work out. Two of his armed soldiers turned with him as he moved back to the black helicopter that would take him far from the cursed land, never to return.

"That's quite far enough," Nagi called out smugly before they had gone halfway to the black chopper. In many ways he and Smith were quite alike, he didn't like loose ends either.

* * *

When the eight spots appeared in the sky the fighting around the academy ceased as all eyes, of those still conscious enough to do so, went up. Almost like fireballs the missiles closed in fast, leaving no doubt as to what they were. Just like the ending of the previous invasion the end would be the same, a cleansing purge through missile fire. These though were far more powerful than the ones used before.

"Gakutenou!" Midori called out, directing her Child straight up and into the path of the projectiles. The scene was very reminiscent of Mai going into the path of Artemis' Golden Lightning, but unlike that time Midori knew that she would make no miraculous recovery. She was no Mai in that respect, but to protect the people she cared about she would do just what the High School girl had done. Mai hadn't known she would be coming back when she had done the same thing, Midori thought, knowing she could do no less of a selfless act. Justice, Love, Friendship, she hadn't been boasting idly when she had revealed herself as a HiME the first time. That was her belief and this was its logical conclusion.

However Gakutenou had different ideas, bucking wildly in mid-flight. So unexpected was the chariot's movement that she was falling down, shaken loose from her platform, in the blink of an eye. Her Child continued to go up, his solid form giving way for flaming light.

No, Midori thought fearfully as she fell, not caring about her rapid flight. If he disappeared now the missiles would impact and kill everyone.

"Teacher!" Shiho shouted to her, catching the falling woman with her own Child. Both of them continued to look up at the death approaching them as did the people bound to the ground.

The flaming balls of reds and yellows, burning hot and bright from the resistance of the atmosphere, contrasted starkly to the bluish flames that were Midori's chariot. It seemed the end, but then the flaming form grew instead of getting smaller. The form of a giant warrior, sword in hand, met the eight balls of fire that were like the heads of a hydra, or more specifically, a dragon, like the legendary and infamous Orochi.

Unaware that she was crying Midori watched the last fight of her Child, Gakutenou, a king that surprises even the heavens, with pure amazement. She knew the warrior's name then, "Susanoo," she whispered, before the entire sky lit up in a powerful explosion of light.

* * *

The command centre, the large black vehicle, had looked better. Screens were busted, the holographic display had a wide crack straight in the middle and the ceiling was gone. And that was just for starters on the damages, Collins was pretty sure the launch tubes were gone as well. With a groan he looked around, seeing he was the only one left still conscious. The Commander was gone, off leading a strike himself as far as he could remember, but that was the last he had seen of him.

The blast in the sky had finally worn off and he was still seeing spots, but all things considered he couldn't be better off. Those had been some heavy warheads coming there way and if it wasn't for one of those Valkyries they would be all dead.

Outside the girls had fled inside the school and he figured the destruction of the Star had taken their powers away. He sighed, the Commander's strategy had prevailed, but at great cost. By all means he should rally the remaining forces and capture the girls, but he just couldn't do it. What would be the point at this stage? For all intents and purposes he was now the only one left in a command position, as far as he knew. Only if all others, an unlikely scenario, were incapacitated would he be in charge, but it had happened anyway. The success of the mission rested on his shoulders, but he just couldn't go on with it. That one Valkyrie had saved them all and from their own missiles no less, he couldn't forget that.

Going to a console that had survived whatever it had been that hit them he pressed in a few buttons. By a stroke of luck that system was still working as well and several signal flares, ordering retreat, shot in the air.

Collins sighed, the cursed land of Fuuka was an aptly chosen name, he thought, though he had only heard his commander say it once. The young soldier from overseas, looking for adventure, had more than enough of the small prefecture.

After everything that had happened, in so short a time, he didn't know what to think anymore. Success, failure, death, missiles, it was all too much.

Looking out a school window, alert and sceptical at the signs of retreat, though it was a relief the soldiers were leaving, Natsuki surmised the situation best, "What a mess."

* * *

When morning came things didn't look much better, debris lying everywhere, trees burned, broken windows and a huge crater in one of the roads, would have the students talking for days on end. The Student Council was quick to come with an explanation, though like the explanations of their predecessors, such as how lightning had created the huge trench on the mountainside, it wasn't really believed. Rivalling gangs from outside the prefecture, maybe from even as far as Tokyo, had used the campus grounds as a field for their struggle. And the bright flash? Lightning of course.

Classes were lively as rumours were being discussed and new ones being born. Another hot topic was how class 2-B's Kazuya had his arm in bandages, possibly from the 'gang' attacks, though he claimed he fell wrong on his date with Akane in the city. Another interesting piece was the new patient in the infirmary with a broken leg, which she honestly claimed she got in a motorcycle accident. Why wasn't she in a normal hospital? Because she likes the school so much, she said.

There were so many things that were, quite simply, off, so many strange coincidences. Who would believe the executives' explanations?

* * *

Leaning back against a tree, wearing her full nunnery outfit, Nao cared nothing for the rumours and when asked simple said that people should mind their own business. She'd glare at whoever asked those insipid questions for good measure, an easy feat considering the mind-splitting headaches she was still suffering from. It was the same with the Director, she'd come to understand. Neither of them had taken the doctor's orders to get some rest to heart. Fumi had work to do and Nao, she didn't want to miss anything of her current duty.

A longstanding tradition of punishment in the academy was to send the miscreants, guilty or not in some cases, to the church to be reprimanded. That had never really worked on her, which was why she probably made a good overseer. Even though her head hurt it was better than spending her time skipping out in the nurse's office. Going to class was better even than having to stay there as long as that woman was occupying one of the beds. She'd never get rest, not even while lying down.

Just thinking about it, and how she was left with pain, got her angry again. It could have been a lot worse; a headache in comparison was a small price to pay. But she was not the one paying for it.

The grassy field, cornered off with yellow tape, was still full with junk that had to be removed. Taking to that duty, a light punishment given the circumstances, seriously, Laura made good time in putting everything on a big heap for easier removal later. However, one other girl was being increasingly lax about it.

"Hey, convict," Nao called out, "You missed a spot."

"Can't you help out a little?" The girl replied.

"I'm not the one who made this mess," Nao said, smirking, "Besides; you owe us for even being alive. It's very cold and lonely in space."

"Hmm, stingy," Arika muttered.


End file.
